Storms brought 1 to 3 inches of rain to Sonoma County (w/video)

The third of three storms in one week dropped some rain across Sonoma County on Saturday morning, but the recent wet weather is not nearly enough to move the needle on the region’s parched reservoirs, officials said.

Despite the recent rain, water management officials cautioned that the state is still gripped by drought, and rainfall this winter would have to be above average to get water storage facilities back to normal levels.

“It’s way too early to say the drought’s over,” said Brad Sherwood, spokesman for the Sonoma County Water Agency. “We have not seen the bounce you would anticipate in our reservoir storage. What we are excited about is that this tees up the rest of the winter.”

Saturday’s storm brought as much as 2 inches of rain to parts of Sonoma County, with east Santa Rosa receiving 0.4 of an inch, according to the National Weather Service. More than an inch fell in Sebastopol, 0.5 of an inch in Rohnert Park and 0.1 of an inch at Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport.

“The rainfall was varied across Sonoma County,” said Austin Cross, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The system moved south by mid-morning and was followed by clear skies. Cross said sunny weather should last through Thanksgiving Day, but more rain expected late in the day on Black Friday could affect holiday shopping.

The three storms this week brought 1 to 3 inches of rain to Sonoma County, but Lake Mendocino is still at 40 percent of capacity and Lake Sonoma is at 56 percent, Sherwood said. The two reservoirs provide most of Sonoma County’s water for drinking and agriculture.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we need,” he said. “It’s going to take awhile.”

The Water Agency is releasing a series of new public service announcements reminding people that the drought still persists. In one video, Supervisor Efren Carrillo touts the agency’s “drought busting” measures, including increased use of recycled water, conservation rebate programs, and working with scientists to better understand weather patterns.

“While optimistic Mother Nature will bring rain this winter, we must prepare for the worst-case scenario, another dry winter,” Carrillo says in the video.

You can reach Staff Writer ?Matt Brown at 521-5206 or matt.brown@pressdemocrat.com.