Mother Nature Preparing To Wallop Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – A potent storm with cold air from off Alaska and moisture from north of the Hawaiian Islands was heading for the San Francisco Bay for Thursday, packing heavy rains, gusty winds and blizzard conditions for the Sierra ski resorts.
But before it arrives, the National Weather Service said, a weaker front would roll through the area on Tuesday bringing rain mostly to the North Bay.
By the time the front rolls through Wednesday night, the weather said, more than 2 inches of rain could fall over the North Bay mountains with 1/2" to 1.5" for the rest of the North Bay.
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Around the SF Bay Area and the Santa Cruz Mountains, the storm will dump generally a tenth to a quarter of an inch.
In the Sierra, the front has triggered a Winter Storm Watch through Tuesday night with more than a foot of new snow predicted for 8,000 feet and above and 6 inches of snow at lake level in Tahoe.
At lower elevations, the rain storms will continued to sending river levels higher.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for the eastern Shasta County, the central Sacramento Valley, Clear Lake and southern Lake County and the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada.
On Thursday, between 4-8 inches of rain are possible at the lower levels of the Sierra on top of the 3-8 inches that fell last week.
Conditions should improve early Wednesday before the week's main event begins to move into the Bay Area later in the day.
The storm front has the potential to dump more than 2 inches of rain in Santa Rosa and San Jose and slightly less than 2 inches in the San Francisco area.
Along the coastal mountain ranges as much as 4 inches or more could fall.
Winds will also be gusty. Higher elevations may see gusts of 35 to 45 mph, with some areas gusting to over 55 mph. Urban areas will see gusts of 25 to 35 mph.
Behind the front rain will switch to showers on Friday. Additional amounts will be light although another 1/4" may be picked up, the weather service said.
Needless to say, by late Friday rainfall amounts will be quite healthy for the month and water year.
In the Sierra, the front will bring blizzard conditions with heavy snowfall and strong winds. Chains will definitely be needed in the mountain passes of highways 50 and 80.