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San Francisco Bay Area commuters can expect a soggy drive home Wednesday.
The National Weather Service says that winds will increase throughout the day with rains starting mid-afternoon. Forecaster Steve Anderson in the service’s Monterey office says a wind advisory is in place until 7 p.m. tonight.

A three-day heat wave has delighted and perplexed people throughout drought-parched California, but a cold front moving in from Oregon should remind residents that it’s still winter.

The rain made a comeback in the Bay Area Wednesday night.
Flooding could be seen on the skyway approaching the Bay Bridge. Pooling water made the night’s commute difficult for drivers headed out of the city.
The storm is bringing heavy winds. At one point, gusts on the Golden Gate Bridge reached 76 miles per hour. A wind advisory is in effect until 4 a.m.

Farm groups are offering guarded praise for a new drought-response bill by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein that would provide funding for water storage and encourage more capturing of storm waters during wet winters.

The San Francisco Democrat proposes devoting $1.3 billion to long-term projects, including $600,000 in federal funds to augment potential Proposition 1 projects as the proposed Sites Reservoir near Maxwell, Calif., or the planned Temperance Flat Reservoir near Fresno.

The State Water Resources Control Board has released its Proposition 1 Groundwater Grant Program Draft Guidelines and scheduled a series of public meetings throughout the state to accept public comment on the draft.

Proposition 1 includes $900 million for grants and loans for project that prevent or cleanup the contamination of groundwater that serves or has serves as a source of drinking water. The State Water Board is responsible for administering $800 million of those funds. The Proposition 1 Groundwater Grant Program Draft Guidelines establish the process for submitting project solicitations and evaluating projects.

California’s soggy start to winter had many predicting the end of the state’s record drought.
Myths and overstatements popped up like weeds after winter rain.

Some said El Niño’s powerful storms could wash away the drought by spring. Others said the state couldn’t officially declare an end to the drought until reservoirs filled up. And then there were questions about whether an official drought-ending declaration could only come from California Gov. Jerry Brown.