The “atmospheric river” storm that stalled over the North Bay over the past two days has dropped a staggering 20.79 inches of rain over Venado, a spot in rural Sonoma County a few miles west of Healdsburg.
The 48-hour rainfall total in Venado through Wednesday at 4 a.m. is greater than the 14.90 inches of rain San Jose averages in a year. As a comparison, San Jose has recorded 11.71 inches this water year, which began Oct. 1; San Francisco has received 18.9 inches.
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“Those are tremendous amounts of rainfall, especially when the city of San Francisco only received about an inch,” National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Gass said before dawn Wednesday morning.
The two-day storms caused was expected to cause the worst flooding along the Russian River in Sonoma County in 24 years. Creeks and streams across the North Bay flooded roadways, and there were multiple reports of downed trees and power lines across the Bay Area.
Although the heaviest downpours are over and only “lingering showers” are expected Wednesday, all the runoff will continue to pour into tributaries.
“All that water’s got to go somewhere and right now it’s heading into the major rivers,” Gass said.
“The worst of the heavy rainfall is over. All the tributaries, smaller creeks and streams across the North Bay will continue to flow into the larger rivers and allow additional rises on the river.”
Venado is located about seven miles northwest of Guerneville in Sonoma County. Wednesday morning at 8 a.m., the Russian River surged to just over 42.52 feet, more than 10 feet above flood stage near Guerneville. It is expected to crest at 46 feet between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Wednesday night — 14 feet above its flood stage — a level that would rank as the worst flood there in 24 years.
The last time the river rose that high was in January 1995. The all-time record for the Russian River exceeding its banks is just three feet higher, at 49.5 feet, in 1986.
Before sunrise Wednesday, the Sonoma County Sheriff reported on Twitter that all roads leading to Guerneville are flooded.
“You cannot get into or out of town,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
Wednesday at 6 a.m., the streets of Guerneville were mostly quiet as the west end of the main street running through downtown Guerneville was starting to submerge. Emergency personnel were spotted on the town’s streets, and reinforcements were plowing through the water in huge rigs
While Venado was the wettest Bay Area location, several North Bay cities and towns recorded eye-popping 48-hour rainfall totals, including Santa Rosa at 8.73 inches, San Anselmo at 8.17 inches, Kentfield at 7.14 inches.
In other reaches of the Bay Area, rainfall totals were lagging. In a 48-hour span ending Wednesday at 11 a.m., San Francisco had 1.03 inches, Oakland .80 inches and San Jose .23 inches, according to the weather service.
“The atmospheric river, or the water hose so to speak, was pointed at Sonoma County,” Gass said.
In the Sierra Nevada, ski resorts reported two-day snowfall totals ranging from 10 to 55 inches through Wednesday at 9 a.m. Caltrans reported that Interstate 80 remained closed from Colfax to the state line mid-morning Wednesday, as crews worked around the clock to reopen the highway.
Snow showers are expected to continue through Thursday, according to the weather service.
Wednesday, the Sierra Nevada’s snowpack stood at 150 percent of its historical average for this time of year, up from 69 percent of average on Jan. 1,. The snowpack, which provides California with one-third of its water supply, now stands at 129 percent of its historical average for April 1, considered the end of the snow/water season by the state’s water managers.
