In the Twitter universe it's been called "#Stormaggedon," while others have described it as the worst storm to hit the West Coast in 20 years.
When the Pineapple Express came barreling down on California, Oregon and Washington Dec. 11, choosing San Francisco as its epicenter, it brought the city and its surrounding areas to a virtual standstill.
Yet, despite flooded streets, hurricane-force winds and an 8.5-hour power outage in the San Francisco's financial district, the area's credit unions suffered little interruption in service and minimal inconveniences.
"It was very stormy on Thursday, but it also was very quiet from a business standpoint," Robin McKenzie, SVP of marketing and communications for the $2.4 billion Redwood Credit Union in Santa Rosa north of San Francisco, said. "Thanks to local weather services we were well-prepared a few days ahead of time. Planning is key."
Transportation and child care issues due to school cancellations kept some credit union employees from making it to work.
Flooded roads and loss of power also caused some credit unions to close branches for all or part of Thursday.
"Three of our four branches were closed at some point [on Thursday]," Darren Herrmann, president/CEO of the $1 billion San Francisco Fire Credit Union, said.
The credit union's main branch and administrative offices were closed all day due a power outage from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Herrmann said. The credit union's Pacifica and Stonestown branches were closed for parts of the day, but the Mint Plaza branch remained open.
"Our Contact Center remained open normal hours — from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. — to serve our members by phone or web chat," Herrmann said. "Mobile and online banking were impacted by the power outage at our main branch, and were unavailable for a short period of time while we converted to generator power."
Herrmann said SFFCU's conversion to generator backup was not as easily accomplished as it was for other credit unions. The cooperative had to rent the generator and have it delivered to the main branch. Once operational, the generator powered only the computer system and selected workstations deemed critical to credit union operations, he noted.
The switch to remote power sources was automatic and operated a little more smoothly for the $930 million San Francisco Federal Credit Union, according to President/CEO Steven Stapp.
"We're on the same electrical grid as emergency backup center," Stapp said. "When we lost power, our battery backups went right on. Everything was fully functional almost immediately."
One aspect not powered by the battery backup were the security cameras at the credit union's central branch. That branch remained closed until Pacific Gas & Electric restored power Thursday afternoon, Stapp said.
The storm's impact from the Mexican border to the Canadian border has been both dramatic and destructive, according to news reports.
Parts of California that have suffered from drought conditions for as long as three years welcomed the rain, which then led to mudslides, flooding and even a tornado as a result of severe conditions.
As much as two feet of snow fell in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, while 4.5 inches of rain saturated Big Sur on California's Central Coast in just three hours. In Oregon, two deaths have been attributed to the storm.
In San Francisco, the historic cable cars ground to a halt last Thursday, their conductors uncertain of the aging transportation's braking capacity under such conditions. A buffer lane was added to the Golden Gate Bridge to reduce the risk of head-on collisions between vehicles attempting to avoid flooded sections. Stalled cars and buses clogged flooded intersections.
The storm's impact wasn't nearly as severe in the East Bay area, according to Steve Punch, president/CEO of the $1 billion Pacific Service Credit Union in Walnut Creek, Calif.
"Bay Area storms typically have regional impacts that vary considerably, and in the East Bay the storm's impact was fairly moderate," Punch said. "The winds had not produced much damage and flooding was confined mostly to existing creeks and flood channels. Our credit union didn't experience any power outages or road closures."
Following the storm, the most damaging outcome would be produced by high winds, according to Punch. With the ground saturated, strong winds would topple trees and that could damage power lines and homes. Rural areas also could see mudslides and road closures if the rain continued a few more days, he added.
"From what I can determine, however, most Bay Area credit unions did not experience lengthy disruptions in service or sustain a lot of damage," Punch added.
Such was not the case at Stapp's home in San Francisco's Sunset neighborhood.
Two weeks before another storm left the house's lower level and garage under two feet of water. After cleanup and prior to Thursday's storm, Stapp fortified the area with sandbags, which protected the areas from flooding once again.
"The first time was just a practice run for the big storm," Stapp said.
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