N. California Storm Closes Bridges, Kills 2 : Weather: High winds force Caltrans to turn away trucks on Bay Area spans. Downed trees cause deaths in Monterey, Redding. Rain pelts L.A. and is expected throughout day.

Wet, stormy weather with winds gusting to 100 mph blew through Northern California again Tuesday, leaving two people dead and 650,000 without power while forcing the closure of San Francisco-area bridges to truck traffic.

By midday, the sun was shining and the wind had calmed as San Franciscans cast votes for mayor and voters in San Jose elected a new congressman, but more showers were expected to pelt the Bay Area for the rest of the week.

The leading edge of the storm turned south Tuesday afternoon, drenching Santa Barbara and Ventura counties with more than two inches of rain in some areas before advancing into Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties shortly after nightfall.

Steady rain pelted Los Angeles on Tuesday night, slowing traffic to a crawl for homebound commuters. Forecasters said up to an inch of rain should fall downtown--with perhaps three times that much in some foothill and mountain communities--before the precipitation tapers off late tonight and early Thursday.

In the San Fernando Valley area, authorities reported an increase in traffic accidents Tuesday night as the asphalt became slippery in the rain. “They don’t know how to drive during the dry weather,” said one frustrated LAPD officer, “and now it’s raining.”

In Topanga Canyon, residents kept their eyes on the skies and made a run on sandbags that were being given out at the local county fire station.

“We’re running out quickly,” said County Fire Capt. Mark Warr, who added that no severe flooding was expected Tuesday night.

Strong winds knocked down power lines throughout the Valley, causing about 3,000 customers to lose power, a DWP spokesman said. Power was expected to be restored by early today.

Snow levels should remain relatively high--above 7,000 feet in the San Gabriel, San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains.

Curtis Brack, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., said a second arm of the storm is expected to hit the Southland Friday morning, with a good chance of showers throughout the day and into the evening. Saturday and Sunday should be partly cloudy and breezy, Brack said.

On Tuesday, a 52-year-old man died in Monterey when a pine tree fell onto a highway, causing him to lose control of his car, and a 44-year-old woman in Redding died when an oak tree crashed through the roof of her mobile home as she and her husband slept. The husband was not struck.

The storm had claimed a life in a weather-related car accident Monday in Northern California.

After a dry autumn, the destructive but much-needed storm brought rainfall totals to near normal in some parts of Northern California and coated the Sierra with its first significant snowfall of the season.

“We caught up in a hurry,” said Miguel Miller of the National Weather Service.

While utility crews worked to restore power, San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan spent much of the blustery election day touring the city to assess storm damage.

As he fought for his political life, Jordan called for an investigation into the cause of a sinkhole that gobbled a Tudor-style mansion in the exclusive Sea Cliff neighborhood and threatened to consume two others. Jordan blamed the sinkhole on work being done on the sewer system in that area.

“I want to be sure that the affected residents and homeowners receive an answer as to why the sewer collapsed,” Jordan said.

Workers managed to halt further erosion of the 200-by-100-foot hole. Still, 22 families had been evacuated, and city officials said it would be several days before they could safely return to their homes.

“They’re back-filling it with sand to stabilize it,” said Alex Mamak, spokesman for the San Francisco Public Works Department. “Two houses are in a precarious position. Probably, one will come down” today.

Early Tuesday, wind shoved a big rig hauling garbage into a guardrail of the San Francisco Bay Bridge, leaving the truck dangerously close to toppling into the bay, 185 feet below. That prompted Caltrans to briefly close the main connection between San Francisco and Oakland to truck traffic.

“The guardrail saved me,” driver Rod McAlavey told Associated Press. “I was looking out over into the water.”

Greg Bayol, spokesman for the Department of Transportation, said winds reached 50 mph on the bridge.

Morain reported from San Francisco, Malnic from Los Angeles.

* FARMERS, SURFERS HAPPY: The first of two winter rainstorms soaks Ventura County. B1