C
ommunities along the Russian River in western Sonoma County are contending with one of the worst floods the overflow-prone stream has seen in a generation. Some views from along the river and elsewhere in the North Bay after the area suffered nearly two full days of nonstop rain.
The Russian River is forecast to rise to 46 feet, some 14 feet above flood stage. The California-Nevada River Forecast Center has estimated the river will reach its crest late Wednesday night. It should recede below flood state late Thursday, forecasters say.
The forecast 46-foot crest is a foot above the level recorded on New Year's Day 1997 and at least several feet higher than floods that have been seen since then. But Wednesday's peak is below the catastrophic flood levels seen in February 1986 and February 1995.
