Forecasters: Sonoma County weekend will be cold, rainy

The North Bay is on tap for rain and low temperatures that have potential to impact special events across Sonoma County this weekend, forecasters say.

Inland areas, including Santa Rosa, may receive as much as a half inch of rain from 11 p.m. Friday through 5 p.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office.

Even the smallest amount of rain will have a noticeable impact on current Sonoma County rainfall tallies, which already surpass normal levels for the calendar year.

Since Jan. 1, 24.59 inches of precipitation has been recorded at Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport, the weather service reports. Normal rainfall between Jan. 1 and May 1 is 20.02 inches.

A number of events planned for this weekend could be affected by the latest round of wet weather.

These include the 150th Kentucky Derby Party at Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens on Saturday, and the 15th annual Roseland Cinco de Mayo Festival in Santa Rosa on Sunday.

Due to the rain, Caltrans announced Wednesday it would be rescheduling a weekend paving project for Highway 37.

Work was supposed to cover eastbound lanes across Solano, Napa and Sonoma counties. A new project date hasn’t been announced.

The North Bay is getting the brunt of the storm. Various areas, including Cloverdale and Napa, may be getting up to an inch of rain by the time conditions dry up.

The rainfall will weaken to the south, where areas south of Santa Cruz are likely to record up to 0.2 inches of rain.

High temperatures that nearly reached 80 degrees this week are expected to drop to 61 degrees by Saturday.

Low temperatures, which typically increase during the early morning, are expected to bottom out at 42 degrees.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi.