Russian River Flooding Not as Bad as Expected: National Weather Service

SONOMA COUNTY, CA -- The Russian river at Guerneville crested at 34.4 feet at about 1 p.m. on Friday, nearly five feet lower than previously predicted, according to the California Nevada River Forecast Center, but is expected to remain above flood level throughout the rest of the day.

The earlier prediction of 39 feet prompted the Sonoma County Office of Emergency Services to issue an advisory evacuation notice on Thursday, Feb. 9, and the Guerneville Veterans Memorial building was to serve as a shelter, Sonoma County spokeswoman Rebecca Wachsberg said.

About 550 households are impacted when the Russian River reaches 35 feet, Wachsberg said. The river was expected to remain at or above flood level until 11 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10.

As of 8:42 p.m. Thursday, there were 34 road closures in the unincorporated area of Sonoma County, according to the Department of Transportation and Public Works.

As of Friday morning, Riverfront Regional Park, Spring Lake Regional Park, Sunset Beach and Steelhead Beach were closed.

Previous coverage: Russian River Expected to Flood

Bay City News contributed to this report/Image via Finlay McWalter (GNU Free Documentation License)