A dark Christmas Eve as over 15,000 PG&E customers face outages due to high winds and rain; more on the way.

As of 2pm on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 24, more than 15,000 households and businesses were without power in Monterey County, after high winds and rain pummeled the region over Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning.

The majority of those were on the Monterey Peninsula, mainly Pebble Beach and Carmel, with some in Monterey and Pacific Grove.

The main cause of the outages was trees and branches falling on power lines. Initial estimates on the PG&E outage map for restoration ranged from after 10pm to 4:30am, depending on the neighborhood.

Crews have been working since the storm began, according to PG&E spokesperson Jeff Smith, with plans to work throughout the holiday weekend. An outage is never welcome, but Smith says they realize outages over the Christmas holiday is "problematic."

"We're working to get those customers restored as soon as we can," he says.

The County of Monterey announced community resource centers opened on Wednesday for those impacted by the outages:

• Carmel Highlands Fire Station, 73 Fern Canyon Road, Carmel, 12-6pm
• Schozle Park Center, 280 Dickman Ave., Monterey, 12-4pm
• Park Branch Library, Mission and 6th, Carmel, 1:30-5pm

Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove is offering subsidized rooms for local residents at $99 a night.

More rain and winds are expected through the weekend. The region continues to be on a flood watch through 10pm, Friday, according to the National Weather Service, as well as a high surf advisory and small craft advisory.

A high wind warning is in effect from 8pm, Wednesday through 10am, Thursday, with the potential for severe thunderstorms in the region Wednesday afternoon through Thursday, when gusts of wind of up to 45 miles per hour are possible.

The storm calms down on Friday, with showers expected, decreasing by Saturday. The sun is expected to break out by Sunday.