Northern California copes, tweets, posts amid heavy storm

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Tom Muneio, 61, of Santa Barbara, center, enjoys a wave in Ventura County, where sets of 8 to 10 feet pounded the coast ahead of rain storms expected late Thursday afternoon. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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Water covers one of several vehicles stranded in Berkeley on Thursday. A powerful storm churned through Northern California, knocking out power to tens of thousands and delaying commuters while soaking the region with much-needed rain. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)

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A major storm approaches the Los Angeles skyline Thursday, bringing with it fears of heavy rainfall, flash floods and debris. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Matthew Hazard cleans snow from his vehicle after several inches fell in Soda Springs, Calif. A severe storm sweeping through Northern California forced drivers without four-wheel drive vehicles to put on chains before crossing over Donner Summit. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

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People use kayaks and a canoe to make their way around a flooded parking lot at a shopping center in Healdsburg, Calif. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

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Beatrice Clark walks through the floodwaters in Healdsburg, Calif. Sonoma County authorities are recommending hundreds of people evacuate the lowest-lying areas near the Russian River, which is expected to start overflowing. (Christopher Chung /Associated Press)

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A resident of Guerneville, Calif., who parked his car overnight in the Safeway parking lot on Vine Street in Healdsburg, finds it submerged as Foss Creek topped its banks. (Kent Porter / Associated Press)

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An SUV is crushed by a large oak tree during a storm in San Jose. No injuries were reported. (Gary Reyes / Associated Press)

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Vehicles make their way along a snowy eastbound Interstate 80 near Soda Springs, Calif. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

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Aidan Perez, left, 12, and Christopher Dow, 11, play with a shopping cart in the flooded parking lot of a shopping center in Healdsburg, Calif. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

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A car and shopping cart are submerged in water at a flooded shopping center in Healdsburg, Calif. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

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A vineyard is flooded along Highway 101 in Windsor, Calif., as a powerful storm churned through Northern California on Thursday. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

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Girls run along a flooded street in Healdsburg, Calif., during a powerful storm. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

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A pedestrian walks in the rain next to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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Department of Public Works crews clear a tree that came down across a road in Larkspur, Calif. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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A pedestrian walks in traffic in San Francisco during the storm. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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Pedestrians walk through the rain in the San Francisco Bay Area. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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A man rides his bicycle through the flooded intersection in South San Francisco. (Alex Washburn / Associated Press)

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Mark Kunze of San Bruno pushes his stalled vehicle out of the flooded intersection in South San Francisco. Several vehicles stalled in and around the intersection after driving through the deep water. (Alex Washburn / Associated Press)

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Commuter ML Mann struggles in the wind and rain to make her way to catch a ferry to San Francisco from Sausalito, Calif. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

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Traffic moves slowly across the Golden Gate Bridge in the high winds and rain Thursday, in this view from Sausalito, Calif. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

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A bus passes through a flooded roadway in Mill Valley, Calif. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

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A car creates a wave of water while passing through a flooded area in Mill Valley, Calif. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

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A man crosses Montgomery Street in San Francisco. The San Francisco Bay Area reached or exceeded normal annual rainfall totals for the first time in years. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)

By Veronica Rocha

Dec. 11, 2014 1:15 PM PT

Rain flooded streets with Thursday's storm in Northern California as high winds downed trees, and power went out for thousands.

Forecasters say the storm, which has an "atmospheric river" known as the Pineapple Express that can be up to 400 miles wide, is one of the most powerful to hit California in years.

Vivid images from the storm have emerged on social media. Some of the most eye-popping images as well as news updates are included below.

California

Veronica Rocha

Veronica Rocha worked on the Metro desk and at L.A. Now covering breaking news in California. She joined the Los Angeles Times in 2014 and left in 2017.

Northern California copes, tweets, posts amid heavy storm

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