Storm to bring more rain to Bay Area, Sierra snow than in earlier predictions

The storm heading into the Bay Area on Monday should bring even more rain than previously expected, meteorologists say, as well as snow to higher elevations in the Sierra.

Weather forecasters expect 2 inches of rain in the greater Bay Area starting Monday morning and possibly lingering through to early Wednesday. Higher elevations along the coast, including in Marin and the Santa Cruz Mountains, could get up to 4 inches, said meteorologist Brian Mejia with the National Weather

Service in Monterey.

“I expect the majority of the Bay Area to see some rain,” Mejia said. “Rain chances are increasing before 6 a.m. on Monday, and they really ramp up as we progress into Monday.”

In the Sierra, skiers arriving at Tahoe-area ski resorts Saturday morning were treated to new powder, with 7 inches of snow reported at Kirkwood and 6 inches at Heavenly.

The stronger system coming in Monday should also bring as much as 2 to 3 feet of snow to elevations above 7,500 feet in the Sierra, which is welcome news after recent reports showed the snowpack to be 24 percent of average for this time of year. Snowfall should begin Monday evening and continue into Tuesday, said Evan LaGuardia, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Reno.

In areas between 5,000 and 7,000 feet of elevation, such as South Lake Tahoe and Truckee, however, there’s still uncertainty whether the precipitation will come in the form of snow or rain, LaGuardia said.