Holiday forecast calls for rainy weather on Christmas

A winter storm is expected to blow through Sonoma County on Christmas Day, dampening hopes for outdoor holiday celebrations amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Weather forecasts showed up to 75% confidence that the storm will reach the North Bay sometime late Thursday or early Christmas Day, National Weather Service meteorologist Drew Peterson said.

The storm is expected to drop up to an inch of rain in interior valleys and up to two inches at higher elevations, Peterson said.

If it follows the pattern of recent storms, the rainfall will begin with a period of light showers followed by stronger rain that lasts for a few hours tailed by more showers, Peterson said.

The Sonoma Coast and surrounding areas are poised to see the highest amounts of rainfall. The rest of the Bay Area and portions of the Central Coast will also be hit by the storm.

“After sunset on Christmas Eve into Christmas morning is essentially when we’re thinking it will come into the North Bay,” Peterson said. “It should be tapering off probably after sunset that night, or maybe into the next morning.”

Temperatures will reach the mid to high 50s on Christmas Day and dip to the mid 30s to low 40s overnight.

The rainstorm is not expected to be strong enough to trigger flooding within Sonoma County’s burn-scarred areas, which was good news despite how little rainfall North Bay has seen in recent months, Peterson said.

Since official rain season began Oct. 1, Santa Rosa has picked up 3.24 inches of rain, roughly a third of the typical rainfall this far into the year.

The county airport has seen 9.51 inches since Jan. 1, a fraction of the calendar-year average of 33.33 inches, he added.

“The more of these storms we get, the better,” Peterson said of the moderate rainfall. “It gives more time for plants to begin to regrow and more time for people to prepare for any potential impacts.

Another weak storm could blow into the North Bay as soon as early next week, Peterson said. That system could included sustained winds of up to 25 mph and gusts of up to 40 mph at high elevations, he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nashellytweets.