Showers giving way to sun

After a damp holiday weekend, the Bay Area is expected to dry out this week with days of sun and clear skies following possible showers early Monday morning, forecasters said.

On the heels of a rainy October, the fifth-wettest in more than a century, November has been another wetter-than-average month throughout much of Northern California, with parts of Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Lake, Shasta and Trinity counties seeing twice as much rain as usual in recent weeks.

But in the Bay Area, the month is expected to end on a sunny and dry note, with highs in the mid- to upper 50s in San Francisco and low 60s in most of the East Bay through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Things will get off to a gusty start, with high winds in the bay posing a hazard to small boats through early Tuesday. A wind advisory is also in effect through Monday morning for Lake Tahoe.

Over the weekend, travelers flying out of or landing at San Francisco International Airport got a lucky break from the rain Sunday morning when clouds parted around sunrise, clearing the way for an estimated 160,000 people expected to move through the airport during the day.

Snow and ice caused road closures on sections of several highways in Mono County, in Yosemite National Park, and elsewhere in eastern California. Chain controls were ordered on Interstate 80 in both directions near the Nevada line, on Highway 50 from Kyburz to Meyers, and on Highway 89 between Markleeville and Woodfords.

While the snow may be bad news for drivers, it was certainly welcome at the mountain resorts around Lake Tahoe, many of which opened for the ski season over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Two feet of snow buried Sierra-at-Tahoe on Sunday. Squaw Valley and Kirkwood had close to 16 inches, forecasters said. On the other side of the Sierra, close to 20 inches fell at Mammoth Mountain.

Nine inches fell at Heavenly and Mount Rose and in the city of Truckee. The snow should taper off early in the week, but a light round of snow may come Wednesday night and Thursday.

That snow should mean more midweek rain at lower elevations. Some passing showers may be on deck for Wednesday, but National Weather Service meteorologist Anna Schneider said the storm system is weakening as it approaches.