A flood watch from the National Weather Service is in effect for the Bay Area and Central Coast from 4 p.m. Monday through 4 a.m. Wednesday as a storm system moves through the region through the end of the week.
A wind advisory is also in effect for coastal areas from 3 p.m. Monday to early Tuesday morning, with gusts of up to 50 mph in the forecast.
The storm, part of an atmospheric river, arrived with rain over the weekend that dumped several inches in the North Bay and about an inch in the East Bay.
Atmospheric rivers are wide, long, bands of heavy moisture that usually begin in the tropics and blow with the wind or air direction. They can be as long as a thousand miles and move large volumes of water in the atmosphere like a river, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
The wind on Monday was already causing trouble in the North Bay, where a tree fell into an elementary school in Santa Rosa. No injuries were reported.
Rain totals from the Weather Service forecast from Monday through Friday range from 1 to 2 inches on the Central Coast, 2 to 4 inches in most of the Bay Area, and between 3 to 6 inches in the North Bay.
Higher elevations could see up to 8 inches of rain.
Most of that rain will fall earlier in the week, with about between a half inch and an inch forecast from Wednesday through Friday.
“Tuesday’s going to be our biggest impact day,” said Dalton Behringer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
He said commuters on the roads Tuesday morning should be prepared for “a pretty nasty time.”
He said soil in higher elevations in the North Bay and Santa Cruz mountains is already saturated after this weekend’s rain and warned of a minor chance of landslides.
The wind and flood advisories recommended preparing for the storm by ensuring gutters and storm drains were clear of leaves and debris, checking tires, wipers, fluids and lights on vehicles, and monitoring local forecasts for flooded roads.
Residents living in flood-prone areas should be prepared for flooding. The Weather Service warned to never drive through flooded roads.
Roadways could be slick on Tuesday as the rain accumulates with flooding possible in roadways, creeks and rivers.
The downed tree in Santa Rosa damaged a building at Steele Lane Elementary School at about 11:30 a.m., according to the Santa Rosa Fire Department, which responded to the scene to clear the tree.
A spokesperson for the school, Maria Luna, confirmed nobody was in the area at the time so nobody was injured. She said damage was still being assessed as of about 1:30 p.m. but it did not cause any disruption to students or a need to evacuate.
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