Storm could bring more than an inch of rain to Sonoma County

A storm system blowing into the North Bay on Friday brings the chance of the most measurable rain in weeks.

“We are expecting precipitation,” said Drew Peterson, a weather service meteorologist in the Bay Area office, said Thursday. “Possibly much more than we have seen this winter.”

Of the two fronts that Peterson said will pass through the area, the greater chance of rain is associated with the second front, which will arrive Saturday.

The coast could see up to 3 inches of rainfall, Peterson said, while Sonoma County cities could receive anywhere from three-quarters of an inch to 1.5 inches of rain.

That amount would essentially double the total precipitation Sonoma County has received since Oct. 1, the start of the water year. The county has seen only 18% of its normal amount of rainfall to date.

Peterson said his office is also keeping an eye on a potentially larger storm system that could arrive sometime around next Thursday.

“We may be beginning to transition out of this fall-like regime,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Kaylee Tornay at 707-521-5250 or kaylee.tornay@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ka_tornay.