Sonoma County can expect clear skies, slightly warmer temps the rest of the week before light weekend rain

Despite the unusually low temperatures this week, Sonoma County did not set a record for overnight lows late Tuesday into Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

And regardless of the continued cold temperatures forecast for the rest of the week, record breakers are unlikely.

North Bay residents will likely awake Thursday morning to lows in the high 20s, according to Richard Gass, a meteorologist based in the service’s Monterey office.

Though Gass anticipated Wednesday night to be the coldest night this week, there’s a "slim possibility“ that weather records could be broken this week.

The record low for March 2 was 26 degrees, set in 1955. Gass believes temperatures might settle near that depending on the interaction of wind speeds and land cooling, but he does not expect them to drop below it.

He added that the interior valleys are expected to hit a low in the upper 20s with the rest of the county dropping down into the 30s.

Icy roads were blamed for a “handful” of collisions, including some spinouts, Wednesday morning, according to California Highway Patrol Officer David deRutte.

“It’s been busy,” he said, referring to how many calls CHP received Wednesday morning.

The reports were from “all over” the county, deRutte said, adding that few injuries were reported.

A pickup truck spun out at about 6:45 a.m. on the Highway 12 connector to northbound Highway 101 in the middle of Santa Rosa.

A white truck went into a ditch at about 7:30 a.m. at Bennett Valley and Sonoma Mountain roads southwest of Santa Rosa. One person was transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, according to officials.

Icy road conditions also were reported along Highway 101 near Geyserville.

And a vehicle flipped onto its side at about 7:10 a.m. at Highway 12 and Trinity Road near Glen Ellen.

With the cold expected to continue through the end of the week, increasing the chances of icy, slippery roads, motorists were advised to reduce their speed.

“Slow it down,” deRutte said.

On Thursday and Friday residents can expect chilly mornings and clear skies.

Lows are expected to drop into the 30s across Sonoma County, with highs topping out in the low 60s — about three to five degrees warmer than Wednesday, Gass said.

Possibly starting late Friday, and most likely starting early Saturday, there will be “relatively light” rainfall in the region with daytime temperatures expected to reach the lower 50s through the weekend, Gass said.

“We're not anticipating any kind of major flooding concerns,” he added.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @madi.smals.