Sonoma County's month-long rain drought about to end

Rain that had been expected by Wednesday evening was slow in arriving.

But don't worry, assured the National Weather Service, rain will be falling Thursday.

That would herald the end of a month-long, high-pressure system that has brought with it four weeks of sunny, cool, dry days.

"It's coming, it's just slow," said weather service forecaster Diane Henderson.

She noted that Arcata was seeing some rainfall at 8:15 p.m. on Thursday some speckles were reported in Ukiah.

Sonoma County would see its own rain "probably around midnight," Henderson said.

The storm could bring up to an inch of rain in the valleys and three inches in the upper hill areas of the North Bay.

"Everybody's looking forward to it, the soil's getting pretty dry," said Nick Frey, president of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission.

Early morning temperatures, which have dropped into the low-20s, are also forecast to rise to the mid-40s by the week's end.