BAY AREA BRACES FOR WINTER STORM
Expert: It's `possible' that all of Northern California could see snowflakes
The Bay Area saw snow descend from above Thursday, with the white stuff landing on such unusual places as the Oakland Hills and causing snowy road conditions in places not even 100 feet above sea level.
That was just the appetizer, weather forecasters said.
Behind the band of moisture that caused snow to fall in Boulder Creek, 500 feet up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, will be a second wave that's colder and more intense, they said. Forecasters expected the storm to batter the state with snow, hail, thunder, lightning and gusty winds from the Oregon to Southern California borders.
“The more organized band (of moisture) arrives Thursday night,” climate scientist Daniel Swain said via a YouTube broadcast early Thursday. “That will come with slightly colder air aloft that will drag the snow level down to at least 500 feet through most of Northern California.”
The cold storm also left rain showers in Santa Cruz County. La Selva Beach posted 0.53 inches of rain in the past 24 hours. Soquel recorded 0.30 inches to bring its total since Oct. 1 at 36.58. Happy Valley recorded 0.20 inches in the
past 24 hours. But Happy Valley's season total stands at 45.84 inches. The local rain figures are all from Sentinel weather observers.
The rain year begins on Oct. 1 and runs to Sept. 30.
A winter storm warning
issued by the weather service was expanded to include the entire Bay Area higher in elevation than 1,500 feet. That warning was set to expire at 11 a.m. Friday morning, according to the weather service.