More freezing temperatures and rain on the way to Sonoma County

The rinse-and-freeze cycle that has set in since Wednesday across Sonoma County will return this weekend for another go after temperatures bottomed out again early Friday.

The chilliest spots in Sonoma County were in Cloverdale and at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, which both registered 28 degrees early Friday, according to Jeff Lorber, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

That was still two degrees warmer than Wednesday morning at the airport, making it not quite the coldest day this season, as forecasters initially expected.

With more frigid overnight lows expected, the National Weather Service issued a freeze warning from 11 p.m. Friday to 9 p.m. Saturday for the interior North Bay.

Temperatures were expected to drop into the low 30s Friday night and mid-30s Saturday and Sunday nights — not as cold as earlier in the week due to cover from the incoming rain clouds.

Up to an inch of rain is expected Saturday and Sunday in Sonoma County, with little risk of localized flooding. It comes after about 1½ inches fell across most of the county overnight Wednesday into Thursday.

“It’s beneficial rain,” Lorber said.

The rainfall Saturday is expected by 10 a.m. and will taper off Sunday.

Sonoma County airport has received 2.14 inches of rainfall so far this water year, the 12-month period beginning Oct. 1, according to Rick Canepa, a meteorologist with the weather service. The 30-year average at the airport for the first month of the water year is 5.41 inches.

By this time last year, the airport had recorded 13.7 inches of rain for the water year, Canepa said, boosted by a historic drenching from an atmospheric river in October.

“With the four-year drought, what we’d like to see is more surpluses, but there’s going to be years when there’s deficits, like this year,” Canepa said.

Though, there’s still hope to catch up, he said. “We’re just starting the winter season, so we should be seeing more rain going forward, which is good.”

Daytime high temperatures Saturday and Sunday are set to be in the low 50s, below the 58- to 59-degree average this time of year, Lorber said.

Factoring in the overnight lows, any prolonged outdoor exposure could present serious health risks, Lorber said.

“These temperatures can be hazardous to people who don’t have access to heating or shelter,” he said.

He encouraged people to take advantage of local warming shelters if needed, drive slowly and cautiously due to possibly icy road conditions, cover exposed pipes and bring pets and plants indoors.

You can reach Staff Writer Alana Minkler at 707-526-8511 or alana.minkler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @alana_minkler.