3rd major storm in a week lashes soaked N. Calif.

Last Updated 2:35 p.m. ET

SAN FRANCISCO

Residents of Northern California were hunkering down early Sunday as a powerful storm drenched the area with yet another round of pounding rain and strong winds.

The latest storm system moved into the region Saturday night and was expected to force several Northern California rivers over their banks.

The Napa River, north of San Francisco, a river with a history of flooding, was expected to top its banks some time Sunday afternoon.

The Russian River, another river that frequently floods was expected to flood near the Sonoma County community of Guerneville Monday morning.

"Some roads will become inundated and some of the agricultural areas will take on some water," said Mark Strudley, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service.

The Napa River overwhelmed downtown Napa in 2005, flooding or destroying about 1,000 homes and forcing thousands of residents to leave the area.

With that in mind, residents worked to fill 700 bags with 10 tons of sand, city official Danny Lerma said.

"When you see it happen, you always remember, and you say, 'I'm going to be better prepared,'" Lerma told KGO-TV. "And that's what they're doing right now."

Farther north, forecasters said the Truckee River near Lake Tahoe was expected to crest above flood level by Sunday morning. The threat of flooding prompted officials in Truckee, a small town of about 16,000, to set up an evacuation center.

A flash flood watch was also in effect for a wide area of Northern California through Sunday evening.

To the south, forecasters say as much as one inch of rain per hour fell on parts of the Santa Cruz mountains early Sunday. but by early afternoon the National Weather Service canceled its flood warning for parts of Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties.

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CBS Station KOVR reports residents near the Truckee River are bracing themselves for rain the region hasn't seen in possibly a decade or more.

"It's a little surreal. Here we are standing here, and all this water's going to come overnight," said Rick Reynolds, who lives near the river.

Reynolds lives just yards from the rushing water that's expected to come up possibly four feet over floor level, creeping closer to his home.

"What's going to happen is going to happen. It's all prediction right now, so tomorrow morning we'll see what's going on," said Reynolds.

Only sandbags and prayers can help.

"The saying goes, 'The river taketh, the river giveth,'" said Peggy Lindsey, who lives near the Truckee.

Lindsay says she is doing what she can to "keepeth" by sandbagging her yard. But she's worried about neighbors whose homes are a bit older, a bit too low, facing water that could be a way too high.

Just across the border in Nevada, a state of emergency was declared in Reno, Sparks and Washoe County due to the expected flooding.

CBS Affiliate KTVN reports police will close roads Sunday morning in response to the high potential of flooding and high winds in the Sparks industrial area.

The weather also prompted cancellations of Christmas parades and tree lightings in Sparks and Truckee.

Officials were also warning people to be careful along beaches.

A high surf advisory was issued by the weather service, with swells expected to be 14 to 16 feet along the Northern California coast. In Southern California, high surf was predicted in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.

In San Diego, the Ocean Beach Municipal Pier was closed because of big waves and high tides.

At the peak of Friday's storm, some flooding was reported and thousands of people in Northern California were without power.

The stormy weather may be behind a crash that involved several cars on Interstate 280 outside of San Francisco on Saturday morning, as well as the death of a Pacific Gas & Electric worker in West Sacramento who was killed after his truck crashed into a traffic signal pole during the stormy weather Friday.