What does the rain mean for fire season in Sonoma County?

The rain that began over the weekend has offered a delightful reprieve from the summer heat, but experts say the moisture isn’t enough to end fire season.

"I wouldn’t hang your hat on this rain,“ said Cyndi Foreman, division chief fire marshal for the Sonoma County Fire District. ”This just knocked the dust off a little bit.“

September and October are often the most critical months for wildfires in Northern California because they tend to usher in offshore winds and low humidity — conditions that can promote the spread of flames.

“This just gave us a couple days to kind of catch our breath,” Foreman said. “But I don’t think this has any lasting effects on this last push through the end of fire season.”

Scattered showers could continue Tuesday in Sonoma County, but the wet weather is expected to clear by Wednesday and there is no more rain in the forecast, according to meteorologists with the National Weather Service.

While rain in September is not unusual for the Bay Area, this storm has been a particularly wet one for this time of year, meteorologists said.

Normal September rainfall in the region ranges from 0.05 to 0.15 inches, and some locations have seen upward of 1,000% of the monthly normal since the weekend, according to the weather service.

“We’re referring to this as a fire-slowing event for the season,” said weather service meteorologist David King. “In the short term, it has helped wet the fuels to kind of help dampen fire concerns for the next week or so.”

“But there’s plenty of time for it to dry out,” he added.

Lightning strikes were reported Sunday afternoon along the Sonoma Coast, about 5 miles north of Bodega Bay.

Rain totals as of 3 p.m. Monday included 2.92 inches in Annapolis, 2.67 inches in Cazadero, 1.26 inches in Rohnert Park, 1.04 inches in the town of Sonoma, 0.59 inches in downtown Santa Rosa and 0.32 inches in Petaluma, according to the weather service.

Temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to be slightly below seasonal averages, with a high of 72 degrees predicted for both days in Santa Rosa. A high of 78 is forecast for Thursday and 82 for Friday.

The average high temperature for Santa Rosa in September is 76 degrees.

Santa Rosa reached 115 degrees during a sweltering heat wave on Sept. 6, which was the city’s hottest temperature in 120 years of records. The previous record of 113 was set July 11, 1913.

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Pera at matthew.pera@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Matt__Pera.