Petaluma, Sonoma County Under Flood Watch, Wind Advisory

PETALUMA, CA—The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for Tuesday through late Friday night for Petaluma, Sonoma County and the North Bay as the first significant atmospheric river of the season is expected to deluge the region with intense rainfall.

The weather service said flooding caused by excessive rainfall will continue throughout the week. Creeks and streams may rise from their banks, and flooding may occur in poor drainage areas and urban areas. Low-water crossings may be flooded. There is also an increased risk of rock and landslides along roadways.

Rainfall totals from Wednesday and Thursday range from 3-7 inches in the valleys to 6-10 inches in the higher elevations. An additional 2-4 inches of rainfall is expected Friday into Saturday, increasing flooding concerns.

"You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings," the National Weather Service said. "Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop."

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Petaluma residents should also prepare for strong 20-30 mph winds with gusts up to 45-50 mph. A wind advisory goes into effect at 10 p.m. Tuesday and continues until 6 a.m. Thursday. During this time, unsecured objects may be blown around and tree limbs could be blown down, creating the possibility of a few power outages. The combination of wind and moist soils will increase the risk of downed trees, the weather service said.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company has opened its Emergency Operations Center in Vacaville and was preparing to respond to outages and storm-related damage.

PG&E's meteorologists have been utilizing machine learning outage models to forecast areas of concentrated outages. Crews are being repositioned to restore power in those areas if necessary, and the company has stored power poles, powerlines, transformers and other electric equipment at yards throughout its service area.

If an outage does occur, PG&E customers can find real-time updates via the online outage center. Renters and others without a PG&E account may use this portal to sign up for outage notification by text, email or phone.

"We expect the first strong storm of the season to bring some much-needed relief after months of wildfire conditions," said Peter Kenny, PG&E senior vice president of electric operations. "If a power outage occurs, we are ready to safely restore power as quickly as possible to our hometowns and customers."

Petaluma Seven-Day Forecast

Tuesday Night
Rain likely after 10pm. Cloudy, with a low around 45. Southeast wind 7 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch possible.

Wednesday
Rain. High near 58. South wind 16 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 36 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between three-quarters and one inch possible.

Wednesday Night
Rain. Low around 50. South wind 14 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between three-quarters and one inch possible.

Thursday
Rain. High near 63. South wind 11 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between three-quarters and one inch possible.

Thursday Night
Rain likely. Cloudy, with a low around 53. South wind 13 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between three-quarters and one inch possible.

Friday
Rain. High near 61. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between three-quarters and one inch possible.

Friday Night
Rain. Low around 46. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Saturday
Rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60.

Saturday Night
Rain likely, mainly before 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42.

Sunday
Rain likely, mainly after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59.

Sunday Night
Rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42.

Monday
Rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59.

Monday Night
A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37.

Tuesday
A chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 60.