Sierra likely to get plenty of snow

A “miracle” may not be the right term, but it looks like California is about to get a heavy dose of precipitation this weekend after a bone-dry February and meager start to March.

The National Weather Service says a system developing from the Pacific Northwest will bring heavy snow to the Sierra Nevada range, creating “major” mountain travel impacts, starting Saturday.

The storm will also drop significant amounts of much-needed rain throughout all of Northern California, NWS forecasts show. Parts of the Sierra foothills could see close to 4 inches from Saturday through Monday, and Sacramento should get between 1 and 2 inches over that span.

Overall, the heaviest precipitation will hit Saturday night through Sunday afternoon, according to the NWS. Rain will likely begin late Saturday morning in Sacramento and continue into the night. Thunderstorms are possible, most likely on Sunday afternoon. Heavier rain will give way to lighter showers by about Monday, possibly continuing through Wednesday.

This weekend will also bring a quick drop in temperatures and an uptick in gusty winds.

Sacramento on Thursday afternoon set a pair of daily records with highs of 82 degrees at Sacramento Executive Airport and 83 degrees downtown, each 2 degrees warmer than the previous high marks set in 2007, according to the NWS. California’s capital is forecast to hit 74 degrees on a sunny Friday afternoon, but is then predicted to plummet down to just 56 degrees Saturday and stay in the upper 50s into the middle of next week.

Gusts up to about 22 mph could start Friday night, die down a bit on Friday and return to around 20 mph Sunday in Sacramento, according to the NWS.

Forecasts call for about 2 to 4 feet of snow to fall between Saturday and Monday near the summit.