Strong winds down tree in Sebastopol; calmer weather conditions ahead

Calmer conditions are on tap for Tuesday after light rain developed and breezy conditions toppled a tree in Sebastopol Monday.

Sustained winds out of the northwest reached 34 mph Monday with gusts up to 46 mph, according to forecasters.

The winds, though, were expected to ease up overnight and reach lower speeds by Tuesday.

“(Monday) is the peak,” said Rick Canepa, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Monterey.

The fallen tree crushed a car in the parking lot behind Beekind, a honey and beekeeping shop on Gravenstein Highway.

It was not immediately clear if there were any injuries.

Light rain was reported across Sonoma County Monday morning, but there was little accumulation. Rain totals showed the region had only recorded a few hundredths of an inch.

Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport, for example, recorded 0.02 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.

Additional rain may develop by mid-week, but Canepa said similar amounts to Monday’s are likely.

“If it does reach the North Bay, it’s light rain. A few hundredths (of an inch),“ he said.

Any mid-week rain would come from weather conditions that are developing north of the Bay area, and a separate system above the Pacific Ocean could bring more showers this weekend.

That rainfall also is expected to be light, Canepa said.

On the Sonoma Coast, waves reached 8 to 13 feet, making for hazardous seas and prompting a gale warning from the National Weather Service that was set to expire Monday night.

Temperatures around the North Bay are expected to reach into the 50s Tuesday. Skies will be sunny with some clouds in the afternoon. Through the rest of the week, temperatures will fluctuate between the upper 50s and the lower 60s.

Staff writer Colin Atagi contributed to this report.