Wild spring storm drenches North Bay with heavy rain, gusty winds

A fast-moving spring storm was packing a punch Friday, with bouts of heavy wind and rain.

Edima from Novato is ready for spring, but she's feeling winter vibes instead -- wet and cold.

"I was thinking it wasn't going to be raining all day. We've been having beautiful days but today it's a nonstop rain," Edima said.

In San Rafael, a tree crew was busy removing a tall Cypress. This delicate job was made even more challenging by the storm.

TIMELINE: Level 2 storm to bring heavy rain, wind to SF Bay Area

"It's more difficult it just requires us to be more safe so we have to take it a bit slower," said Edgar Gonzalez from The Tree Man.

By midday, winds were gusting in Santa Rosa and driving required caution and slow speeds. The fire department expects trees to topple before the storm is over.

"With the rains coming -- the potential for strong, gusty winds and thunderstorms as well -- little unusual to have something of this magnitude late in the season, but it's good for the reservoirs," said Santa Rosa Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal.

Sonoma Water says Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino reservoirs are both nearing capacity after winter rains but there's still room enough to handle rainfall from this storm.

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"Both reservoirs have plenty of space for this next storm to come through. What's nice is they are above the water supply pool, holding extra water. So as we get to the end of the rainy season into the dry summer months, we've got plenty of water," said Andrea Rodriguez from Sonoma Water.

Is it too early to talk about the 2024 fire season? Firefighters say right now, fire danger is low and could remain that way into April and May -- thanks to all the beneficial rain.

"Hopefully it'll push it back, the fire risk we'll see in the late spring, early summer," Lowenthal said.

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