Menlo Park Weather: Brace for 50 MPH Peninsula Wind Gusts, Heavy Rain, King Tides

BAY AREA, CA – A new storm will bring rain, wind and possible flooding to the Bay Area on Thursday afternoon but is expected to taper off by Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Heavy rain and winds will likely hamper the afternoon commute and forecasters are calling for up to 1.5 inches of rain in the region's valley areas and up to 4 inches in the hills.

Steady southerly winds of between 25 and 35 mph will push through the Bay Area ahead of the storm, with possible gusts of up to 50 mph, according to the weather service. The agency said to prepare for downed trees and power lines– and for difficult driving conditions for some vehicles.

The graphic below details when to expect the winds in various regions of the Bay Area. In the Peninsula, it's expected to be the windiest between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday.

The storm's main impacts will hit Thursday morning in the North Bay and will move over the entire region in the afternoon and evening. It's expected to linger through the pre-dawn hours of Friday.

As for Menlo Park in particular, here's a detailed forecast from the NWS for the next few days:

This Afternoon
A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 63. South wind around 10 mph.

Tonight
A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. South southeast wind 9 to 11 mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Thursday
Rain, mainly after 10am. High near 63. Breezy, with a south wind 16 to 24 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Thursday Night
Rain. Low around 43. South southwest wind 8 to 15 mph becoming west in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Friday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 54. West northwest wind 11 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.

Friday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 30.

Saturday
Sunny, with a high near 53.

Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 29.

Forecasters have issued flash-flood warnings for the areas burned by the Loma and Soberanes fires and say drought-weakened trees are particularly vulnerable to being downed and could result in power outages around the region.

Urban flooding is likely around the Bay Area during the storm, especially in Marin County, according to the weather service. The storm will coincide with so-called "king tides," naturally occurring and very high tides that can contribute to flooding, especially along coastal areas and near creeks and estuaries.

"The sun, moon and the earth are in proper alignment to produce the largest tidal cycle of the season," a weather service alert states.

The high tide at the Golden Gate Bridge will arrive around noon Thursday, just as the heaviest rains are expected, according to the agency.

"Locations that are typically dry during high tide may become submerged due to this extreme tidal cycle," according to the weather service. "During periods of extreme low tide expect to see tide pools develop along the immediate coast."

– Image via Shutterstock / Bay City News Service contributed to this report