Rain slows commute, causes flooding in parts of Sonoma County(w/video)

Heavy rain buffeted much of Sonoma County on Friday morning, adding to precipitation totals that so far are historic for the region and a big help in chipping away the deficit left by three years of drought.

The storm largely passed through by early afternoon, but not before rain-slicked roads slowed commuters, caused flooding in some areas and contributed to several fender-benders, the CHP said.

By Friday evening, 14.12 inches of rain had fallen on Santa Rosa in December, more than the first 19 days of any other December, according to Press Democrat records that go back to 1931.

Forecasters said more rain is in store for the coming days, though the area would need more than 3 inches by Jan. 1 to match the monthlong total from 1955, Santa Rosa’s wettest December on record with 17.89 inches. The historical average for December is 6.53 inches.

There is a 20 percent chance of showers Saturday and Sunday followed by dry weather through Christmas, National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Anderson said.

Over the past five days, he said Santa Rosa got almost 3 inches of rain and close to 5 inches fell in the coastal mountain areas.

But “high pressure is finally starting to build back in,” Anderson said. “That pushes all the other storms north and gives us dry weather.”

The 19.02 inches of rain Santa Rosa has received since July 1 is more than twice the 9.54-inch seasonal average for this time of year, and water managers are hopeful that continued wet weather through spring can break the three-year drought that has parched most of California.

“It’s been amazing,” Brad Sherwood, spokesman for the Sonoma County Water Agency, said of December so far. “That’s the start we need to end this drought. We need substantial rainfall through winter and into spring to ensure the full amount of storage in both of our reservoirs and make up the deficit in ground water.”

Lake Sonoma was at 73 percent of capacity Friday and Lake Mendocino was at nearly 72 percent.

The long-term forecast is for the kind of wet winter that water officials say the region needs. Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday said there is a 75 percent chance of above-average rain for the first three months of 2015.

The runoff that spilled onto roads Friday caused problems for motorists across the county. The worst of the flooding was reported near Sears Point and on Sonoma Mountain, where rocks and mud washed onto the roadway.

The intersection of Valley Ford Road and Bloomfield Road was under 3 feet of water when a white Volkswagen sedan became stuck in the rising flood. Firefighters from Bodega Bay, Two Rock and Marin County responded, Bodega Bay Fire Chief Sean Grinnell said. A Bodega Bay rescue swimmer and a Marin jet ski reached the stranded motorist and got him to dry land, Grinnell said.

“That was the big rescue of the day,” he said. “It was in one of the areas that gets heavy rains and backs up.”

Henno Road at Warm Springs Road in Glen Ellen was closed for an hour because of a slide across both lanes, the Sonoma County road maintenance division reported. Other closures due to flooding included Daywalt Road at Highway 116, Green Valley Road, Upland Drive south of Cotati, Todd Road and Rohnert Park Expressway at Stony Point Road.

Flooding also was reported on Highway 101 at College Avenue in Santa Rosa.

Minor crashes occurred on Lakeville Highway near Petaluma and in Sebastopol. Late Thursday, an SUV hit a pole on High School Road and overturned, CHP Sgt. Dave Hoff said.

The Kia Sorento remained on its side, about 50 feet off the road, early Friday. Its driver had been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, Hoff said.

“We like to remind people to slow down,” he said. “Give yourself plenty of cushion with other cars on the freeway.”

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Brown at 521-5206 or matt.brown@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MattBrownPD. You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. ?On Twitter @ppayne.