Rohnert Park, Cotati Under Flood Watch

ROHNERT PARK AND COTATI, CA — The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for nearly all of the Bay Area including Sonoma County as a series of powerful storms continues to unload on the region.

The flood watch is in effect from Friday afternoon through Saturday evening, when a "Pineapple Express"-fueled storm brings heavy rain that is likely to trigger rapid rises of local rivers, streams and creeks.

The NWS is likely to upgrade the weather advisory to a warning, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Light to moderate rain is expected to continue through Friday that is likely to saturate the ground, making areas susceptible to flooding and debris flow increasingly vulnerable when the more powerful storm arrives.

"This rain will continue to saturate the soils, and prime the pump for potential flooding," the NWS said.

"A strong Pacific storm will then move across the region Friday night through Saturday evening, with periods of moderate to heavy rain expected. Therefore, increased runoff will result in rapid rises, and flooding of area rivers, streams, and creeks."

A storm that arrived late Wednesday blanketed the region Thursday morning with rain after an atmospheric river dumped up to six inches of the wet stuff on the region earlier this week.

This weekend’s storm is likely to bring high winds and heavy rain comparable to the storm that brought up to a half foot of the wet stuff in parts of the Bay Area earlier this week.

“This is a very strong system,” NWS Meteorologist Cindy Palmer told Patch.

“It looks very similar to what we just had.”

Excessive runoff could flood low-lying areas, particularly in some of the creeks and rivers of Marin, Napa, Sonoma, and Santa Cruz counties.

The Santa Cruz Mountains, which span Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, is especially susceptible to landslides in the burn-scarred areas of the CZU lightning fire.

“You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings,” the NWS said in a weather alert.

“Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.”

For updated weather forecasts visit AccuWeather.