"For this storm, we have 119,088 customers affected since midnight. Currently that number is 67,459," Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PCG.N) spokesman Brian Swanson said.

The San Francisco-based utility serves about 13 million Californians between the Oregon border and Bakersfield.

Up to 2 million electric customers in California and Oregon lost power during the series of storms that pummeled the region over the weekend and into the early morning hours Monday.

Swanson said homes in the Santa Cruz mountains south of San Francisco and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada were hardest hit as 60 mile per hour (96 kph) winds toppled trees and snapped power lines.

Flash flood warnings were issued in Marin County, just north of San Francisco, while water rushing across the roadway shut down scenic Highway One along the coast near Tomales Bay, about 40 miles (64 km) north of the Golden Gate.

Police said mudslides and clogged storm drains snarled traffic throughout the region, frustrating commuters.

Skiers, on the other hand, were delighted, with up to four feet of fresh snow expected to blanket the Sierra overnight.

A series of swift, moisture-laden storms have already dumped up to 100 inches (2.5 meters) of powder in the mountains this week, guaranteeing a White Christmas at ski resorts for those willing to brave the roads.

For the less adventurous, local park rangers reported a dusting of snow on the highest peaks around San Francisco Bay as the cold front pushed the snow level down to just 3,000 feet (923 meters).

Meteorologists said the rains were likely to ease overnight, but warned that the Pacific "storm door" remained wide open and would likely direct more wet, windy weather at Northern California right through the end of the year.