Bay Area Flood Watch as atmospheric rivers bring heavy rain and rising river levels

“It is a kind of rescuing grace that this one is moving around, and we can spread these rainfall amounts around the region towards what is staying in a place and accumulating big time in just a few areas,” he said.

Forecasts predict the heaviest showers on Saturday with a 15% chance of excessive rainfall in North Bay and San Francisco. When moisturizers change north on Sunday, lighter rain is expected to focus on North Bay. A third round of moderate showers arrive on Monday, bringing the potential for excessive rainfall in the northern region as another system moves through.

At Tuesday, the entire region faces a widespread “marginal” risk of excessive rainfall, accompanied by the lower and strong wind of cold night. The weather service warns that this combination may pose problems for the residents “without sufficient heat or shelter in the middle until late next week.”

“It becomes much more of a marathon than a sprint as far as the rain comes through,” Murdock said. “But over eight days, these rainfall adds. The fact that this will be extended can cause additional problems later. “

Paul Lowenthal, Division Manager Fire Marshal for Santa Rosa Fire Department, does not expect the extreme flood seen in November when at least two people died in Sonoma County during a record storm. However, when the atmospheric river hits next week, Lowenthal said the largest flood risk will emerge.

“There is always potential for events like November last year when we get back-to-back systems with heavy rain,” he said. “Fortunately, the soil is not completely saturated as they were during our last storm, but we expect a lot of localized genes to flood to a minimum.”

Lowenthal said the North Bay residents should prepare by clearing the gutters of waste, examining their properties for risks and paying attention to trees when the wind picks up next week.

“A lot of the exaggerated runoff will end up likely to cause rapid rises of our streams and creeks,” he said.

Andrea Rodriguez, Head of Communications for Sonoma Water, agrees that smaller streams and urban areas have a higher risk of flooding, but “due to how dry has been the last month, flooding is not expected on the Russian river this weekend.”

While January was unusually dry compared to the last two years, Murdock predicts a wetter February. He advised that it is still too early to determine if the storm door will remain open for the rest of the winter.

But at least “it’s open this week,” he said.