Wet week ahead as another storm nears

A dry spell for stormweary Bay Area residents will end Tuesday as a system coming from Alaska heads south toward the region, bringing with it rain, high winds, possible lightning strikes and a couple of feet of snow in Tahoe.

The storm will begin late tonight over the North Bay and in the Santa Cruz Mountains, with precipitation expected for the San Jose area early Tuesday morning after sunrise, National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Gass said.

Mountainous areas are expected to receive up to an inch of rain, while lower-lying regions could get up to three-quarters of an inch. Strong winds will accompany the wet weather, with gusts likely to range between 30 and 60 miles per hour. There's also a 15% to 20% chance of thunderstorms, Gass said.

Temperatures will remain cold throughout today, although the storm will bring with it slightly warmer weather, with overnight lows expected to be in the low 40s and highs in the 50s.

The worst of the system will pass over the region on Tuesday, but wet conditions will likely last until early Thursday. Major river flooding isn't expected, though some localized incidents on highways are a possibility, according to the National Weather Service. The combination of high winds and saturated soil from numerous past storms could down trees and spark some isolated power outages.

In the Sierra, the storm will hit starting Tuesday morning and last until either Thursday or Friday, bringing up to 2 or 3 feet of snow in higher elevation areas. Up to 18 inches is expected in lower-lying regions, according to Brittany Whitlam of the National Weather Service.

All together, the system comes as the Bay Area experiences one of its wettest seasons in recent history, with reservoirs filled and hills that are normally a darkish brown bursting with greenery.

“It's been a busy winter for us,” said Gass. “We're also ready for a break.”

In the North Bay, southbound Highway 101 was closed from Saturday night into Sunday afternoon between the Lakeville Street exit in Petaluma and the San Marin Drive exit in Novato. The closure was related to damage from a mudslide on Tuesday along Redwood Highway between Mount Burdell and the highway. The closure was lifted at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Bay Area weather expert Jan Null said no heavy storms are on the horizon after the one early this week.

“There's nothing in the first week of April that looks ominous,” he said. “Right now the future is bright.”