North Coast rain expected for Halloween

Sonoma County weather is expected to turn frightful just in time for Halloween.

Trick-or-treaters can expect scattered showers along with possible thunderstorms starting Friday morning and continuing to Saturday afternoon.

Temperatures will drop into the low 60s as a cold front sweeps into the area.

“An umbrella might not be a bad idea,” National Weather Service meteorologist Diana Henderson said Thursday. “Definitely bring a jacket.”

Giants fans attending a World Series celebration parade in downtown San Francisco Friday afternoon should prepare for chilly, wet conditions.

In Santa Rosa, up to two-thirds of an inch of rain is expected to fall over the 24-hour period. Higher elevations and rain-prone spots like Cazadero can expect as much as two inches, Henderson said.

“It will be stronger than the last couple of storms that came through,” she said.

But it will do little to make up for the severe drought gripping most of the west, Henderson said.

The rain simply marks the seasonal transition to fall. It is not necessarily a bellwether of more storms to come.

“It’s the beginning of our rainy season, so to speak,” she said. “It’s not the end of the drought by any means. It would take quite a lot more than this system is producing to alleviate that.”

Dry, warmer weather will arrive by Saturday night and remain through most of next week, she said.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.