Rain forecast for North Coast on Saturday

A storm coming down from Alaska is expected to dampen plans Saturday along the North Coast but do little to ease the lingering drought.

One-quarter to one-half of an inch of rain is expected to fall on Santa Rosa and surrounding areas starting before sunrise and lasting until late evening, National Weather Service forecaster Drew Peterson said Thursday.

Conditions will clear by Sunday morning, returning to a dry pattern that has put the region nearly 20 inches behind normal rainfall since Jan. 1, he said.

“It’s not a big storm, but every little bit helps,” Peterson said.

Higher elevations could receive slightly more rain, and 4 to 8 inches of snow could fall on Sierra ski resorts, he said.

Temperatures on the North Coast will reach highs in the upper 60s on Saturday, increasing over the next two days by up to 20 degrees, he said.

“We’ll be right back to the warm, dry weather,” Peterson said.

Rainfall totals are lagging normal levels this year, especially in the period since Jan. 1, he said.

Santa Rosa typically gets about 20 inches in the first four months of any year but this year has received only about 5½ inches, or 27 percent, he said.

The situation looks better since Oct. 1. In that period, about 25 inches fell on Santa Rosa, or about 73 percent of normal, Peterson said.

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