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A blast of high wind slammed into a Santa Rosa neighborhood early Friday, damaging a landscape company while a rare tornado warning was issued for San Mateo County as a winter storm ravaged the Bay Area.

The gust struck Santa Rosa's Sequoia Landscape Materials on Pacific Avenue and King Street, ripping off the roof. Witnesses said they saw a funnel cloud moments before the gust hit the neighborhood.

However, the National Weather Service could not confirm the winds were caused by a tornado until investigating the scene.

Owner Sue Minnigerode said she looked outside her business at 1330 King St. when she heard the wind howling around 9:45 a.m. and saw pieces of the 100-foot long shed fly onto nearby Pacific Avenue.

Debris from the shed landed in nearby power lines and on properties three houses away, she said.

"I saw the wind just pick up the roof and blow it up into the air," Minnigerode told the Press Democrat.

At around 11 a.m., the NWS Doppler radio indicated a tornado cloud had been spotted over Belmont moving northeast at 40 mph.

A tornado was in effect for San Mateo County until at least 11:30 a.m.

The winter storm front, packing high winds, pounding surf and heavy rains and snow, rolled into the Bay Area earlier in the day, signaling the start of a wet weekend.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the middle fork of the Feather River near Portola where the river had crested sat 8.5 feet on Thursday in advance of the front. Flood stage in that area is 8 feet.

State and federal agencies began taking step on Wednesday to limit flooding elsewhere throughout Northern California, dumping water from Central Valley reservoirs to make way for the weekend rain and snowmelt.

"We're just in a wet pattern right now centered right over Northern California," said National Weather Service forecaster Johnnie Powell.

The Sacramento area, like most of Northern California, has accumulated more rain than normal for a typical March, "and we're only halfway through the month," he said. Inches of rain in the Sierra Nevada foothills in recent days have caused isolated mudslides and flooding, with more expected.

The federal Bureau of Reclamation is increasing the flow from Folsom Lake, east of Sacramento, from 15,000 cubic feet a second to 25,000.

"The 15-year average for this time of year is 3,500, so it's pretty high up there," said spokeswoman Lynnette Wirth.

Shasta Lake in the northern Sacramento Valley will increase its flow to 25,000 cubic feet a second, from a typical 5,300 this time of year.

The California Department of Water Resources is releasing water from Lake Oroville for the first time since 2006.

"There were adjustments made yesterday pretty much across the board," said Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Louis Moore. "It's a balancing act. You're passing it through the system."

The front also was set to deliver another wintry blow to the Sierra. The weather service predicted white-out conditions and snow accumulations of up to 2 inches an hour at the higher elevations beginning Friday afternoon.

Travelers to the region were warned to carry chains and also to be prepared for hazardous driving conditions.

Already this year, Sierra-at-Tahoe has gotten 554 inches of snow - more than 46 feet - this year. The latest front was forecasted to dump up to 2 feet of snow above 7,000 feet and as much as 14 inches at lake level in the Tahoe area.

The front also triggered a high-surf advisory for the coast with swells predicted to range from 14-17 feet.

Copyright 2011 by KTVU.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.