RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY

When the Northwest skies finally cleared along the West Coast after nearly two feet of rain fell on the region, hundreds of thousands of people were without power, at least five people had been killed and the National Guard was on its way to help with the cleanup in Oregon. TIME's Elizabeth Mullen reports from San Francisco: "The Bay Area had one million people affected by the power outage Tuesday. More than 300,000 are still without electricity today. The mayor has declared a local state of emergency. The information service, 411, was down for much of yesterday morning. At the San Francisco Zoo, several exotic birds died from exposure. It was the wind that caused all of the problems, with gusts reaching over 100 mph. The storm created a commuter's nightmare because many roads were flooded and shut down, including the some major thoroughfares. Seventy-two trees blew over in in Golden Gate Park alone." The National Weather Service says the worst is over, with only intermittent rain expected through Thursday.