Christmas brings less rain, wind than expected

T he h o l i d ay w e e kend may not be as wet as forecasters first hoped when predicting two twin storms.

A Christmas Day storm finally moved inland Friday afternoon, bringing wind gusts and light rain as a high- pressure system eased, clearing the way for the desperately parched region’s second measurable rain in about two weeks.

More rain is forecast Sunday.

“You know, it’s not as big of a gift as we may have hoped for it to be,” National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Garcia said Friday. “Over the last couple of days, we’ve seen the models trend back on rainfall totals. As of ( Friday) morning, they see very little accumulation.”

The region has fallen far behind on its typical rainfall totals. Since the start of the rainy season Oct. 1, San Francisco has hit just 27% of its normal accumulation, Oakland is at 23% and San Jose is at 19%.

Garcia said the bulk of precipitation was expected by afternoon into the early evening hours and warned that drivers should watch for slick roads; accumulated oil could separate from the rain and make for tricky driving conditions.

Lighter rain amounts, rang ing f rom 1 to 1. 5 inches along the North Bay mountains and coastal ranges to an inch around Mount Tamalpais, were expected, with wind gusts peaking around 20 mph in some mountain passes and across the region’s bridges. That bodes well for still- vulnerable burn scars around several Bay Area fire landscapes, Garcia said.

Locally, Mount Diablo may see a quarter-inch of rain, and inland East and South Bay towns like Walnut Creek and San Jose could see as little as one to two-tenths of an inch.

Another system Sunday into Monday is expected to differ in impact, Garcia said, dropping in from the northwest and bringing the bulk of its precipitation to the Peninsula and Big Sur.

“It may almost be a nonevent in the North Bay,” he added.

In both rain systems’ wake, chillier air will filter in, with tonight’s lows dipping into the 30s in some inland towns and even the upper 20s in outlying North Bay valleys. The forecast generally calls for overnight lows in the 30s and 40s, and daytime highs in the mid- 50s to low 60s, with a mix of cloudy to overcast skies and westerly winds.