The North Bay appeared to be avoiding the worst of a Presidents Day storm battering Northern California, but with rain continuing to fall Monday afternoon accompanied by strong winds there were still problems across the region with mudslides, toppled trees and road closures.
A spill-out on Old Monte Rio Road west of Guerneville around noon was threatening several homes, according to Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman.
He said about 300 feet of the road was in a state of collapse after the soaked ground beneath it gave way.
Officials at the scene were determining whether the slide posed a risk to Highway 116, which is about 500 feet below the spill-out.
Numerous road closures were reported due to flooding. That included Highway 12/121 in Schellville south of Sonoma and Valley Ford Road east of Bodega. A large fir tree that toppled over in the 6700 block of Covey Road in Forestville around 7:45 a.m. struck power lines and forced the closure of that road.
The good news is the region appears to have avoided the brunt of the storm, with the heaviest concentrations of rain shifting south overnight.
“It took a jog south of about 40 to 50 miles,” Brian Garcia, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service said.
He said forecasters have downgraded flood warnings for the Russian and Napa rivers. The rain is expected to last the rest of Monday before starting to clear out around midnight. Scattered showers are predicted for Tuesday.
A little more than 2 inches of rain had been recorded in Santa Rosa at 9 a.m. over the previous 24-hour period.
Nearly 5 inches of rain fell in Venado, a rural outpost west of Healdsburg.
The California Highway Patrol reported no major crashes on roads Monday morning.
“There’s a lot less traffic out there. So far, so good for us,” Sgt. Allan Capurro said.
Sonoma County is still is under a high wind warning and wind advisory, which will last from 1 p.m. Monday to 3 a.m. Tuesday, with 25- to 35-mph winds gusting up to 60 mph this afternoon.
You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 707-521-5336 or derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @deadlinederek.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
