SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - Rain-weary Bay Area residents, brace yourselves — another storm is poised off the coast, promising travel delays and power outages.

A system from the Gulf of Alaska is due to blow into the entire West Coast today, reaching the Bay Area around morning commute time, National Weather Service Forecaster Steve Anderson said.

“It’s a good weekend to stay at home and start filing taxes, fill out your absentee ballot or go to the movies,” Anderson said.

Winds up to 35 miles per hour and heavy rain are expected today and Saturday, with showers Sunday and part of Monday, Anderson said. With temperatures expected to hover at 50 degrees during the day and 40 overnight, the Bay Area will be cold, though not chilly enough to break any records.

The storm is expected to bring 2 inches of rain by the end of today. Five inches is expected to fall in the mountains, Anderson said.

Though this storm won’t compare to the fierce wind and rain that downed hundreds of trees and left thousands of Pacific Gas and Electric customers in the dark earlier this month, it will likely be enough to cause some roadway flooding and power outages today and Saturday, PG&E spokesman Joe Molica said.

On Thursday, PG&E officials were closely monitoring the storm and making sure trucks were loaded with equipment to quickly fix fallen power lines.

“Because high winds are expected in the Bay Area, we are asking our customers to be prepared by having battery-operated radios, flashlights, a cell phone or a single-line telephone — cordless phones will not work without electricity,” he said. Molica also recommended putting liter-size plastic soda bottles in the freezer so they can be used to cool refrigerator contents during an outage.

At San Francisco International Airport on Thursday, most flights were delayed 30 minutes to a little more than an hour, airport duty manager Linda Perry said. Those traveling today and throughout the weekend will likely experience similar delays, she said.

Snow continued to fall on Mt. Hamilton, Mt. Diablo, Mt. Tamalpais, the Santa Cruz Mountains and in Big Sur on Thursday, closing surrounding roads. Mt. Hamilton saw the most snowfall, with 8 inches on the ground, Anderson said.

tbarak@examiner.com