Heavy rain, high winds subside across Sonoma County after downing trees, knocking out power

The latest round of heavy March rainfall came Tuesday in a fast-moving though slightly delayed storm that dropped up to 3 inches on Sonoma County, toppled more trees across the region and knocked out power to at least 1,800 customers.

It dropped a trace of snow at high elevations along the Sonoma-Napa County border and swelled small streams, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a series of extended and localized flood advisories for parts of Sonoma County.

Still, it did little to dissuade some of the heartiest beer lovers, who were lined up even in the downpour at Russian River Brewing Co.’s two locations for the annual Pliny the Younger release.

By the time the Santa Rosa brewpub opened at 10:30 a.m., a line of around 80 customers in winter coats with umbrellas stretched down Fourth Street as it was pelted in a cold rain.

Such is the suffering that some were willing to endure — for up to two hours — to taste the brewery’s special, world-renowned triple IPA.

“It’s been fun to see people giggling and laughing in the rain,” General Manager Rachael Ingram said. “People were just laughing and smiling and having a great time and enjoying it.”

By about lunchtime, the storm had largely subsided.

It had been set to hit earlier overnight, but the cold front carrying the heaviest bands of rain didn’t move into the region until about 8:30 a.m., said Weather Service meteorologist Brayden Murdock.

It dropped up to 1.5 inches of rain across Santa Rosa and its surrounding areas, according to the National Weather Service.

Venado, which is Sonoma County’s historically wettest area in the hills west of Healdsburg, reported about 3 inches of rain.

A flood advisory was issued for Tuesday evening due to “small stream flooding” for areas including Colgan Creek near Sebastopol, plus Green Valley Creek at Martinelli Road and Mark West Creek near Mirabel Heights, both outside of Forestville.

Though the heaviest and most widespread rain is moving out of the area, scattered downpours and thunderstorms could develop in the region Wednesday into Thursday morning, said Sarah McCorkle, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s Monterey office.

High wind gusts were responsible for some downed trees.

The Timber Cove Fire District throughout responded to five reports of downed trees, one of which blocked Sea View Road at Ben Way for about 90 minutes.

Heidi Horvitz, a captain for Timber Cove Fire, said it was “blowing pretty good,” but it was not much compared with previous storms that dropped hundreds of trees at a time this winter.

At this point, more trees are falling at the roots, their grip lost in the now-saturated soils.

One large redwood tree nearly missed about four homes on Riverlands Road in Guerneville and triggered a power failure for more than 20 homes about 7:20 a.m.

Trees also came down in Graton and Occidental.

To date, more than 11.84 inches of rain have been recorded this month at the National Weather Service’s station at Charles M. Schulz—Sonoma County Airport.

That’s about a third of the region’s historical average for the entire rain year and more than double the normal 4.08 inches for March 1-28.

The airport has recorded 40 inches of rain since the start of the rain year Oct. 1, far surpassing the average 17.42 inches typically reported through March 28. The difference is mostly from the series of atmospheric rivers that pounded Sonoma County in January.

On Tuesday, creeks across the region rose through the morning, resulting in reports of urban and small stream flooding in areas of southern Sonoma County and northern Marin County, according to the weather service.

But that flooding was mostly “minor,” and most creeks were expected to quickly fall without another storm following in Tuesday’s wake.

The cold front had been expected to usher in the storm from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m. The delay made for a messy commute for motorists but no major problems on local highways and roads, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The change in track also reoriented the storm slightly, directing stronger winds inland and causing the National Weather Service to expand the wind advisory to cover more area around the North Bay. The advisory expired at noon in the inland valleys.

By 12:30 p.m., Horvitz said, the winds and rain in Timber Cove had slowed and calls had died down. She said the fire district was expecting to get a break for a few hours ahead of the forecasted scattered downpours.

Horvitz advised drivers in the Timber Cover area to stay off the roads as much as possible into Wednesday.

Santa Rosa Fire Marshall Paul Lowenthal said Tuesday had been slow. He anticipated more weather-related hazards as the winds picked up, but the phones remained fairly quiet.

The Sonoma County Fire District also did not field many calls Tuesday morning, agency spokesperson Karen Hancock said.

More than 1,800 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers around Bodega Bay lost power about 7:20 a.m., according to the PG&E outage center. The utility was still looking into the cause, though power was restored to most residents by about 10 a.m.

By 5 p.m., about 120 customers in or near Salmon Creek still did not have electricity.

California Highway Patrol Officer David deRutte did not see many active crash reports around 8:30 a.m., though he identified a few traffic hazards that had been reported, including a rock slide blocking northbound Highway 1 in Salt Point State Park. The report indicated that multiple smaller slides occurred a few miles south.

“It’s always busy in the rain,” he said, adding that motorists need to slow down as they drive Tuesday.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @madi.smals.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi.