Wet, Wintry Weekend Storm Bringing Much-Needed Rain To Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) -- A new storm is expected to bring California several feet of mountain snow, rain and gusty winds through the weekend.
A high wind warning is in effect starting at 10 a.m. Saturday until noon Sunday.
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The rainfall that is arriving in Northern California this Thanksgiving holiday weekend is just the beginning of a wet pattern, and it is very good news.
"Oh yeah, you can feel the storm coming," said one jogger as wind and rain arrived on the Embarcadero Saturday afternoon. As the rain and wind whipped up, one could start to sense the scale of what is arriving in Northern California.
City crews were out early, checking on the storm drains that were no match for Tuesday night's rainfall. One intersection on Haight Street became a small pond in that downpour. Crews were clearing those drains again Saturday.
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As for the San Francisco's more notorious flood spots like Folsom Street, flood barriers will hopefully prevent a repeat of Tuesday night's flooding.
All over town, people were scrambling to get out of the rain, or get ready for it, but remember, this is some rain we need badly.
"For the first time in a couple years, the state is moving back into drought," Dr. Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute told KPIX on November 15th.
Gleick was talking about the possible emergence of drought across the state. More than 90 percent of the state is now considered abnormally dry. A check of Northern Sierra precipitation shows that our rain year got off to a nearly record dry start.
But as we said two weeks ago, things can change quickly.
"If the door opens off the Pacific and the storms come, we could have a normal year, or a wet year," Gleick said at the time.
So now the door is open, and it's going to stay open for a few days.
According to the National Weather Service, Saturday will be rainy with highs in the upper 40s and southeast winds at 15 to 20 mph. Winds are expected to increase to 45 mph after midnight Sunday.
Sunday will be windy with highs in the mid 50s and south winds at 20 to 30 mph.
Another storm is expected to dump between 2 to 4 feet of snow on the High Sierra by late Saturday evening, making for treacherous conditions and possible closures along Interstate 80 over Donner Pass overnight.
Midday Saturday, I-80 was closed to all tractor-semitrailer combinations from Applegate (Placer County) to the Nevada state line due to heavy traffic.
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