Rain showers due Monday in Sonoma County, not much afterwards

Weekend storms brought much-needed rain to Sonoma County, but the region still was left with just over half of its average mid-spring moisture and scant chance of catching up this year, the National Weather Service said Sunday.

The weekend rains, falling mostly on Saturday, amounted to 0.87 inches in Santa Rosa, bringing the seasonal total to 17.74 inches - 54% of the 32.59-inch average for April 5, meteorologist Duane Dykema said Sunday.

“It helped but we’re still far behind,” he said, adding it “would take flooding rains to get anywhere near normal.”

Another 17 inches of rain would be needed between now and June 30 and “that’s not going to happen,” Dykema said.

The rain year runs through Oct. 1, but significant rain from July onward is a rarity, he said.

There’s a 40% chance of rain Monday afternoon, amounting to a quarter of an inch at most.

The weekend rains came from a pair of storms coming down from the Gulf of Alaska that delivered the heaviest precipitation south and east of the Bay Area, including about 5 inches in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

In the Sierra, snow totals could top 2 feet in some areas, while crests could get nearly double that. Motorists were urged to use caution in the mountains, where some roads were closed.

Mostly sunny skies are expected to return Tuesday in Sonoma County, with a daytime high temperature of 66 degrees and climbing into the low 70s Wednesday and Thursday and no rain expected for an entire week.

Accuweather, a private forecasting service that does long-range outlooks, expects two days of rain the rest of April and none in May, with temperatures in the 70s all month.

You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 707-521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @guykovner.