Santa Rosa rainfall total second highest ever — for now

It didn’t take much wet stuff this week for Santa Rosa’s seasonal rainfall total to edge into second place as the wettest of all time with 53.95 inches of rain falling since Oct. 1.

Even bigger news: Santa Rosa is now 1.75 inches of precipitation away from tying 1983 as the rainiest year the National Weather Service has on record. And by the end of the weekend, it just might happen.

Since Sunday, 1.22 inches of rain have fallen at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport, according to the weather service, with a little less than an inch of rain falling from Tuesday into Wednesday morning. With that, Santa Rosa passed the 52.84 inches that fell from Oct. 1, 1997, to Sept. 30, 1998.

And while Wednesday’s rain was slight, another storm is on the way today, said Brian Mejia, a forecaster with the weather service.

About 1.5 inches to 1.75 inches of rain could fall in Santa Rosa by Saturday morning, he said, with up to 4 inches falling in Venado - the hillside town west of Healdsburg notorious for its rainfall.

Things should clear up by midday Saturday, Mejia said, with another storm heading into Sonoma County Sunday.

“But that system moves out pretty quickly,” he said.

That’s followed by a high-pressure system building over the North Bay that should keep any rain well away from us, leading to a dry, sunny, warm - yes, warm - week.

Mejia said the North Bay could expect highs in the 70s.

“Here at the office we’re coming to the conclusion that ... this could be the end of the rainy season,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Christi Warren at 707-521-5205 or christi.warren@pressdemocrat.com.