North Bay rain brings total up to 8 inches, still below average

The wet weather that brought nearly two inches of rain to Santa Rosa since Sunday will begin to dissipate Tuesday, with periodic showers drying up by Wednesday for a one-day break from stormy skies.

Another storm system on its heels could bring strong downpours Thursday, Christmas Eve, but is expected to quickly move on and leave behind a dry Christmas Day, National Weather Service forecasters said.

About 1.7 inches of rain fell at the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport starting Saturday through 4 p.m. Monday, bringing the seasonal rainfall total since Oct. 1 up to 8.04 inches. Normal rainfall for this time of year is 11.07 inches, and “we may be very close to normal within a week or two,” meteorologist Bob Benjamin said.

“It’s been a very productive rain event and it’s not over yet,” he said.

That was clear in Sonoma County’s rainiest spots, such as Cazadero, where a rain gauge measured 5.95 inches since Saturday.

Temperatures will be mild this week with highs in the mid 50s and lows in the 40s until the mercury drops on Friday, bringing several days of freezing low temperatures. Snow could fall on the region’s highest peaks, like Mount St. Helena, forecasters said.

“If you get up early enough on Christmas morning, you might see some white stuff up there,” Benjamin said.