Weekend storm brings ‘beneficial’ rain to Sonoma County, makes way for near-freezing lows

After a weekend of scattered showers, storm clouds will move out of the region making way for colder temperatures earlier in the week and clear skies, according to the National Weather Service.

As of Sunday afternoon, the weekend storm systems brought up to 1¾ inches to the wettest portions of Sonoma County, according to the weather service’s weather and hazards data viewer.

The county’s valleys received about just under an inch of rainfall while the northwest mountains got 1 to 1¾ inches.

This rain was much more “beneficial” than the previous onslaught of storms that hit the Bay Area about one month ago, said Rick Canepa, a meteorologist with the weather service’s office in Monterey.

“It’s a bit spaced out, much more evenly paced. We are not seeing any flooding issues of significance,” he said, adding that there has been some ponding on roadways and small flooding issues.

The Saturday and Sunday storm did bring some pea-sized hail, lightning and thunder, but those had only been reported in the Bay Area, in areas such as Point Reyes and the coast off San Francisco.

Monday morning, after the storms have moved southeast, the clear skies and winds under 5 mph will cause temperatures to drop to the 30s Monday morning across Sonoma County.

The county’s coast will see temperatures in the mid to low 30s and the valleys will see the lowest temperatures, with Santa Rosa dropping to 33 degrees, Canepa said.

Monday night into Tuesday morning lows will also be in the 30s, though slightly higher than the previous morning with Santa Rosa expected to drop to 36 degrees. Highs will reach the upper 50s and lower 60s over the next two days.

The National Weather Service has not issued announcements regarding frost or freeze potentials for the next few days.

The next chance of rain does not appear until the upcoming weekend. The weather service is still monitoring the storm to see where and when it will hit, but it seems the storm will bring more beneficial rain, Canepa said.

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