Another Winter Storm About to Land in Healdsburg

So, about that storm. It’s actually two storms: “back-to-back atmospheric rivers” that local weather officials predict will dump around 4 to 6 inches of rain on our area from tomorrow morning through next Wednesday, with some possible thunder and lightning in there for dramatic effect. That’s about the same amount of rain we got during the last “bomb cyclone” that rocked California, but it should come without the crazy “hurricane-force” winds that pushed our infrastructure over the edge. So we likely won’t see quite the same volume of downed trees, closed roads and record-setting power outages. That said: These are still a couple of solid, respectable storms we’re expecting! A “flood watch” will be in effect starting Sunday morning and lasting through Wednesday morning. During that time, we’re supposed to watch out for overflowing waterways, “ponding of water on roadways and other low-lying areas,” falling trees and landslides. And the longer and harder it rains over the coming days, the more unstable everything gets. More from the Press Democrat: “Wind gusts over the weekend will top 30 mph. While these are significantly lower than the previous storm ― during which a wind gust of 95 mph was recorded at Cobb Mountain’s west ridge east of Cloverdale ― meteorologists are still concerned about falling trees.” … ‘The ground itself is still really wet. One or two sunny days is not enough,’ [meteorologist Matt Mehle] said, referring to the soils drying out enough to keep tree roots held in place. ‘I would assume that many of the trees that were going to come down, came down in the last system,’ he added. ‘That being said, the soils are still saturated, so we still have it as a risk.'” (Source: National Weather Service & NWS via Twitter & Press Democrat; paywall)