Brace Yourself: A Week's Worth of Rain Expected in the Bay Area

BAY AREA, CA -- Rain is forecast for the next six or seven days in the San Francisco Bay Area, and with the rain comes an increased chance of flooding and mudslides, National Weather Service officials said Wednesday.

Widespread rain is expected to start in the North Bay Wednesday night and slide over the central Bay Area for the Thursday morning commute. Thursday's system is expected to move quickly through the region ahead of widespread rain on Friday.

Weaker storms are expected to impact the San Francisco Bay into early next week, weather service officials said.

The next couple of days of rain are not expected to cause flooding of the region's rivers; problems are expected to begin next week, National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Anderson said.

Rain totals forecast through Friday include less than an inch of rain in a number of cities, including San Francisco, Concord and Santa Cruz.

The cities in the North Bay forecast to get more rain include two Sonoma County cities: 1.48 inches in Cloverdale and 1.51 inches in Santa Rosa.

Wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph are possible on Thursday, but weather service officials have not issued a wind advisory.

The storms could make beaches dangerous and bring higher seas, according to the weather service.

Bay City News contributed to this report/Image via Al Francis-NapaSonomaPhotos.com