Sonoma County smacked by first in another round of wet storms

Another round of winter storms began Wednesday, bringing with it gusty winds that toppled trees, knocked out power to residents and brought more flooding to an already soggy North Coast.

As of 8 p.m., 2.7 inches of precipitation had fallen in the past 24 hours at Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport.

“You have had a hellacious amount of rain over the last few hours,” said National Weather Service forecaster Bob Benjamin on Wednesday night.

The service issued a flash flood warning in central Sonoma County from as far as north as Windsor down to San Pablo Bay, though forecasters said the threat was greatest in the southeastern part of the county.

“The creeks are definitely right near the ridge,” said Rancho Adobe Fire Department Battalion Chief Mike Weihman, and many are close to spilling. For instance, Lichau Road near Copeland Creek was flooded.

Santa Rosa's current total of almost 32 inches of rainfall is 172 percent of normal for this time of year, according to the weather service.

Benjamin said the area could reach the historical yearly rainfall average of 36.28 inches by next week – with eight months still left in the rain year.

Two more fronts are expected to pass through the county, bringing a total of 3 to 5 inches of rain in low-lying areas and from 6 to 8 inches in hills and mountains. Wednesday's storm is due to taper off Thursday, leaving lingering showers. Another front is due Friday and the strongest of the three storms is forecast for Sunday.

Emergency officials said residents should be alert for fallen trees and flooding on rural roads. Several motorists were stranded Wednesday night after driving into deep water.

A major concern was the wind, which the National Weather Service said in some areas ranged from 27 to 37 mph, with some gusts as high as 55 mph at Gualala.

“We really had strong winds along the coast,” said Timber Cove Fire Chief Dennis Meredith.

By Wednesday night, there was a smattering of small power outages in Sonoma County, mostly concentrated in the Timber Cove and Fort Ross areas along Highway 1, according to PG&E. In Monte Rio, two different power lines were knocked down on Wednesday night as well as telephone lines that will “cause a lot of pain for people who have landlines,” said Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman.

The Sonoma Coast saw the brunt of the storm's arrival. Timber Cove volunteer firefighters cleared six separate fallen trees on Highway 1, Meredith said.

Calls included a tree blocking both coast highway lanes in the area of Stillwater Cove. Some had a diameter of more than 2 feet, which forced Timber Cove crews to use the cables from their fire engines to pull the trees away from the roadway to clear traffic, Meredith said.

Other areas of the region were also affected. Traffic stalled on northbound Highway 101 at Todd Road Wednesday afternoon when a tree fell across two lanes of the road, according to the CHP. The debris was quickly cleared, troopers reported.

The state Department of Transportation said Highway 128 between Chalk Hill Road and Maacama Creek Bridge was down to one lane because of emergency roadwork that will not be completed until Friday.

The California Nevada River Forecast Center was not forecasting flooding of the Russian River as occurred last week. However, the Lake County Sheriff's Office warned Wednesday that Scotts Creek in northwest Lake County was expected to rise higher than last week, when flooding closed Scotts Valley Road for days. Sheriff's officials advised that Scotts Valley residents take precautions, including preparing to evacuate before their roads are blocked by floodwaters. Roads could close even before the creek peaks.

Next week's forecast includes no rain.

“High and dry, maybe some fog,” said Steve Anderson, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Monterey. “It'll be nice and sunny above the fog.”

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@rossmannreport. You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.