Rain, winds sweep North Coast (w/video)

Winds topped out at 30 mph at 8:30 p.m. at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport with more sustained winds staying between 15 and 20 mph.

The wind downed trees and power lines in the west county. Power lines in the roadway closed Highway 1 near Timber Cove, emergency dispatchers said.

More winds and a return of heavier rains are expected Friday, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Anderson.

While welcomed, the rain won't significantly ease the worst drought on record, said Sonoma County Water Agency spokesman Brad Sherwood. An additional 6 inches of rain are needed just to bring Sonoma County's rainfall to what it was during the drought of 1977.

Ryan Walbrun, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey, concurred.

"We're so far behind, it's going to take a miracle to catch up, but any rainfall is helpful at this point," he said.

By 4 p.m. Wednesday, 0.66 inches had fallen in Santa Rosa, according to AccuWeather, bringing the city's total rainfall for the "water year," measured from July 1 through June 30, to 9.85. That's 36.2 percent of the amount Santa Rosa would normally have received by now, 27.19 inches.

Heavier rain fell into Wednesday evening, with 1.56 inches recorded through 10 p.m. in Santa Rosa, Walbrun said.

Rain was expected to continue through Thursday morning, with just a few showers lingering during the day. A second, stronger storm should arrive by the morning commute Friday, Walbrun said.

While the North Coast tends to hog many of the region's storms, Friday's system should focus more on the South Bay and Santa Cruz area where the hills are expecting 2 to 4 inches from that storm alone.

Santa Rosa should get 0.50 to 0.75 inch from the second storm by the time it clears out on Saturday, bringing the week's total rainfall to between 1 and 2 inches, Walbrun said. Wetter coastal hills could get as much as 5inches.

But many local parts of the North Coast normally receive an average of 0.23 inch of rain a day this time of year, Walbrun said, so the coming rain will do little more than keep the drought from worsening.

"With three consecutive dry winters, we forget what winters are supposed to be like," he said.

The storm could help green the grass for local ranchers but will likely do little to fill the county's reservoirs, Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma, which respectively stand at 41percent and 67 percent of capacity, Sherwood said.

He added that the agency is looking anxiously toward what he hopes could be a "Miracle March."

"We're waiting until after March to make additional water management decisions" about things like mandatory water rationing, he said.

Weather pictures show dry skies Sunday through Tuesday, though moderate rain could return by the middle of next week.

Staff Writer Kerry Benefield contributed to this report.