A relatively fast-moving storm system continued on its path toward the Bay Area on Tuesday morning, dropping rain on areas of Sonoma County in the North Bay overnight and promising do so in the rest of the region by Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
That said, the rain won’t be the most powerful element of this storm.
“The bigger danger,” NWS meteorologist Rachel Kennedy said, “is the wind.”
Wind gusts that are expected to blow between 35 and 45 mph may be powerful enough to bring down trees and power lines and make driving additionally hazardous, according to the weather service. Some gusts in the upper elevations could get as high as 55 mph.
A wind advisory by the weather service will go into effect at 10 p.m. Tuesday and last until 4 p.m. Wednesday. By then, rain is expected to be falling in the entire region.
“We’re still pretty much on track,” Kennedy said, adding that the storm’s pace is “on the progressive side,”
Whether that means rain late Tuesday or overnight Wednesday in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Alameda and Contra Costa counties remains a bit in question. Once it begins, rain is expected to fall steadily off-and-on for approximately 24 hours. The weather service said that though the storm is expected to be done by Thursday, some additional isolated cells to drop rain until Friday.
In all, about a half-inch to an inch is expected to fall in the Santa Cruz Mountains, while the the East Bay, South Bay and Peninsula are expected to receive between a quarter-inch and a half-inch.
As is generally the case in storms descending from the Gulf of Alaska, the bulk of the rain will fall in North Bay coastal ranges and valleys. The weather services said the coastal ranges could receive 2 1/2 inches while the valleys could get 2 inches.
Kennedy said slightly more than one-tenth of an inch of rain fell overnight early Tuesday in far northern Sonoma County.
The rain will make for hazardous conditions on the roadways, with excessive puddles and minor flooding throughout the region.
“The highest likelihood for flooding will be the puddles that accumulate on the roads,” Kennedy said. “We are not expecting any river flooding.”
The weather services also is expecting the rain to be finished by Thursday morning and forecast that the sky will stay dry at least through the weekend.