More rain, strong winds to hit Sonoma County after day of sunshine, recovery

Sonoma County residents can expect their work week to begin with more rain Monday and Tuesday as another atmospheric river makes its way into the region, bringing not only more showers that threaten to swell the Russian River well past its flood stage, but excessively strong winds with predicted gusts that could reach as much as 90 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

A high wind warning, issued shortly after 11:30 a.m. Sunday for portions of the North Bay, is in effect until 4 p.m. Monday, in addition to a flood watch advisory for the same areas that is expected to last through Tuesday afternoon.

Due to damages associated with the recent storms, including flooding, downed trees, and lack of electricity, five Sonoma County school districts announced they’d be closed Monday — Fort Ross Elementary School District, Guerneville School Distrist, Horicon School District, and Kashia School District, Montgomery Elementary, according to the Sonoma County Office of Education.

Fort Ross, Horicon, Kashia and Montgomery Elementary officials said they may also be closed on Tuesday.

An SCOE spokesman who said the county has 40 school districts, cautioned that school districts and independent charter schools make their own decisions about whether to close and should a district send out alerts directly to families then parents should assume the district’s information is accurate.

Families may check on school closures at SCOE.org, or with a specific school district.

This latest storm, one in a series of torrents that have hit the Bay Area since Dec. 26, could dump as much as 3½ inches of rain on North Bay valleys and up to 6 inches in the higher elevations, Cindy Palmer, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Monterey office, said Sunday.

As of Sunday afternoon, the Russian River was expected to crest at 34.7 feet, surpassing the flood stage by almost 3 feet, by Tuesday morning, meteorologists said.

“These are just very strong Pacific storms that are bringing a lot of wind to the area,” Palmer said. “I think it might feel unusual, or seem unusual, because we haven’t had a lot of these storms back to back to back … in recent memory.”

The North Bay on Sunday had a short break from the rain when the clouds broke and gave way to the sun. Many municipalities and area residents used the momentary respite from the inclement weather to clear away debris, downed trees or other wind-damaged remnants of the weekend’s turbulent deluge.

Saturday’s storm left thousands of Sonoma County residents without power, downed multiple trees ― which injured three people Saturday afternoon ― and caused landslides, such as the one along Pine Flat Road near Jimtown just north of Healdsburg, and closed nearly two dozen roads across Sonoma County.

Authorities are also investigating whether this weekend’s wind and rains played a role in the traffic crash that killed a Pacific, Gas & Electric Co. contracted worker whose vehicle went off a Mendocino County road as he was driving to help restore power outages in the region.

On Sunday, a washout occurred at Salmon Creek Road and Fitzpatrick Lane in Bodega Bay, officials said.

A resident reported that the small back road, which leads to two large ranches, was intact at midnight but when they woke up Sunday morning — it was gone, according to Capt. Martin Newman, with the Bodega Volunteer Fire Department.

About two households, with about 2-4 people, near the county road are affected by the washout, Martin said.

“They’re pretty locked in,” he added. “It’s not passable.”

Newman said fire engines and vehicles can’t travel through. However, the fire department can drive through with ATVs in case of an emergency or residents need to travel in and out of the area.

As of Sunday evening, officials were searching for alternative routes for the residents to use.

In this most recent storm, which ended early Sunday, the North Bay valleys received about a quarter to 1 inch of rainfall and the coastal mountains racked up around 2 to 4 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

While these rain totals are not high, the rainfall in combination with the already soaked soils and winds led to multiple trees toppling Saturday night into Sunday morning, Palmer said.

Winds gusts across Sonoma County reached as much as 60 mph, with the stronger winds recorded in the higher terrain. Sustained winds in valleys were around 25 mph from 6 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday.

Winds on Mount St. Helena were as much as 35 mph, Palmer said.

Twenty Sonoma County roads were closed as of 3:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the county’s storm dashboard. Some of these roads include Mark West Station Road in Windsor and Salmon Creek Road in Bodega.

By 6 p.m. Sunday, more than 6,800 PG&E customers across Sonoma County were without power, according to Jason King, a PG&E spokesperson.

“We are seeing a much higher level of impact than you would typically see in a normal winter storm,” company spokesperson Denny Boyles.

The Sonoma County Fire District registered an uptick in calls overnight due to the storm Saturday night, especially when lightning and thunder rolled through the region late Saturday, said Karen Hancock, a spokesperson for the agency.

In addition to trees falling there was also a landslide in Moscow Road near Monte Rio that triggered a road closure.

The agency used the break in the rain Sunday to do water rescue training in preparation for the next round of rain that will last through Tuesday.

The storm will come in pulses, with heavier rainfall expected during the day Monday and from Monday night into Tuesday morning, Palmer said, adding that morning commutes are “going to be ugly” those days.

“The moisture content of the atmosphere going into this next system has the potential to bring a lot more water to the area,” Palmer said.

These rains could contribute to widespread flooding and slides, especially in areas with shallow soil and steep slopes, Palmer said.

Palmer said the strongest winds could take place overnight Sunday into Monday morning, with the Sonoma County valleys experiencing up to 60 mph gusts and the mountains as much as 90 mph gusts.

Winds should die down by either late morning to early afternoon Monday and then pick up again with the rain Monday night, though they are not expected to be as powerful as the overnight winds.

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