More showers on the way

<p>More rain is expected tonight but nothing like Friday night’s storm, a deluge that forced the closure of Highway 101 for nine hours.</p><p>According to the National Weather Service, the storm drenched the Bay Area with 2 to 3 inches of rain. Dozens of roads were flooded as the steady downpour filled flood-prone streams and creeks.</p><p>The Friday evening commute on Highway 101 turned to disastrous gridlock when the San Antonio Creek overflowed south of Petaluma. The highway, which was closed at 8 p.m., finally was opened to traffic at 5 a.m. this morning.</p><p>National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Tentinger said last night’s storm has moved south and that tonight’s rain will be mild in comparison.</p><p>“We’re still going to get some steady rain for tonight but it shouldn’t be heavy,” said Tentinger.</p><p>The storm caused a number of power outages in the area throughout the night, including an outage at 3:54 a.m. that affected 261 customers in Santa Rosa.</p><p>Emergency officials asked residents of Leisure Lake Mobile Home Park between Petaluma Boulevard North and Pepper Road to evacuate for fear they would be cut off by rising water.</p><p>About 12 residents of the mobile home park went to a local motel and several others were taken in by family members, according to local Red Cross officials.</p><p>The shelter at Lucchesi community center was opened last night and took in five people, said Randi Francis, disaster services co-chair for the Red Cross.</p><p>"We’re on standby this evening, because there’s another storm coming on,” said Francis. “We may reactivate or reopen the shelter, depending on our need.”</p><p>For more information about shelter services, local residents can call (800) 951-5600 for Red Cross Emergency Assistance.</p><p>CHP officials reported only rural roadways but no major highways closed this morning.</p>