Cold Storm Barreling Toward Northern California
Get ready for the rain and snow. A big storm is beginning to move over Northern California and is expected to bring more than an inch of rain to the Valley and several feet of snow to the higher elevations of the Sierra along with strong winds and possible thunderstorms.
The storm is expected to hit the Sacramento area beginning this afternoon and move into the mountains. The snow levels are forecast to drop to the 2,000 foot level by Saturday.
In Sacramento, crews have been using leaf-blowers and high-pressure suction machines aloong the freeway to clear clutter and leaves from storm drains.
The National Weather Service is warning travelers of possible blizzard-like conditions with winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour at the highest elevations.
In the Bay Area, forecasters said that along with the rain, there was also a slight chance of thunderstorms this weekend in the impacted areas, which include all or parts of San Francisco, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, Marin, Monterey, Contra Costa, Benito, Sonoma, Santa Clara, and Alameda counties.
The weather service advised anyone who was planning to spend the weekend doing outdoor activities or travel to monitor the latest forecasts and prepare for the possibility of potentially hazardous winter storm weather.
