Storm exits, leaves more than 3 inches of rain for Santa Rosa

Rain tapered off Tuesday morning as the biggest storm of the season headed out of the region, but not before leaving more than 3 inches in Santa Rosa and almost 6 inches in some Sonoma County hills.

By early Tuesday, downtown Santa Rosa recorded 3.02 inches. The Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport had 3.26 inches. And in the hills west of Healdsburg - one of the rainiest patches of the county - 5.88 inches were recorded by 8 a.m. Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

The region remains far behind average rainfall amounts because of an extra dry December with 8.96 inches since Oct. 1, the beginning of the rainy period. Last year there had been 26.16 inches by the same date. Santa Rosa averages about 12.8 inches of rain between Oct. 1 and Jan. 10.

The storm had raised concerns of possible flash floods and damage from gusting winds expected to reach 40-50 mph in the hills. But the rain and winds were less fierce than predicted, and emergency officials countywide reported no major issues during the night.

One of the biggest concerns was the possible impact of heavy rain on fire-scarred hillsides. Efforts to protect waterways from debris and keep hillsides from sliding worked, said Paul Lowenthal, Santa Rosa’s assistant fire marshal.

A flash flood watch, which had been issued through 6 a.m. Tuesday, was canceled at 1 a.m. when the storm’s impact was less than expected.

The storm did cause a handful of smaller problems, including a tree falling into an unoccupied parked car in east Petaluma and into wires on Nelligan and Nuns Canyon roads in east Sonoma County, and early Tuesday a mudslide covering part of Highway 116 west of Guerneville, according to emergency dispatch reports.

There were several reports of standing water in roadways but no serious flooding issues. At least one driver, however, got into trouble in floodwaters - firefighters Tuesday morning found an abandoned, partially submerged car at Mark West Station and Starr roads from an overflowing Mark West Creek.

PG&E reported no serious outages and the CHP Tuesday reported no issues.

For water monitors, the storm was just about right as it soaked dry ground, watered vegetation and will likely cause an uptick in local reservoir water levels.

“A storm that delivers water without leaving a mess behind is welcome any day,” said Brad Sherwood, spokesman for the Sonoma County Water Agency.

Currently, regional reservoirs have healthy capacity levels, Sherwood said. Lake Mendocino is at 91.3 percent and Lake Sonoma at 80.6 percent.

As the storm departed Tuesday, gray skies alternated with sunshine. Forecasters say light rain could return today or Thursday, but only enough to leave trace amounts.

The weekend should be dry, and there is another chance for more rain early next week, said Anna Schneider of the National Weather Service.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412.