Rain, wind lashes North Coast

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The season's first serious storm smacked the North Coast Friday with wet, windy conditions that were expected to continue through the weekend.

Coastal areas received up to two inches of rain and Santa Rosa got more than a half-inch as the tail of a storm centered in the Pacific Northwest swept the region, said Bob Benjamin of the National Weather Service.

Rain was expected to taper off this afternoon but return by evening as a second front moves in, he said.

“Sunday right now looks to be formidable,” Benjamin said. “It should be a wet day.”

The storm marks the most rain since March or April.

It arrived earlier than usual because of a typhoon lashing parts of Oregon and Washington, Benjamin said.

A wind advisory was in place for the Sonoma Coast through Sunday morning. Benjamin said gusts could top 45 mph.

“It's going to be windy and expect the rains to pick up,” he said.

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The storm is expected to leave the area Monday and be replaced by dry conditions for the next week.

Benjamin said it was a “good start” to the rain year, which began Oct. 1.

Last year, he said rainfall measured at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport was just over 32 inches or about 89 percent of normal which is 36 inches.

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