Wet, windy weather makes its way to the Bay Area on Tuesday
The Bay Area is set to get wet again beginning Tuesday, with a storm system expected to bring three days of rain, dropping over an inch on much of the region by Thursday night.
And the same storm could dump up to 3 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains and as much as 6 inches of rain in Southern California, according to the National Weather Service.
The storm will also foster widespread gusty conditions in the Bay Area, with winds from the south between 15 and 30 miles per hour through Tuesday and Wednesday, and gusts between 35 and 55 miles per hour, weather forecasters say.
After a dry start to the week on Sunday, the rain could start falling in the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday, which will be the single heaviest day of precipitation from this storm, accounting for over a half an inch.
By Thursday evening, more than an inch of rain could fall in San Jose, where through all of March to date there has been 1.44 inches of rainfall, said meteorologist Anna Schneider of the weather service in Monterey.
Oakland could see more than an inch and a quarter of rain, Schneider said, and forecasts show Walnut Creek could also see that much.
While wet and windy conditions may persist, temperatures in the Bay Area will remain moderate, hovering around 60 for Tuesday and, mid-60s on Wednesday, and just below 60 on Thursday and Friday.
The storm may be a boon for skiers, as the latter half of the week could see between 1 and 3 feet of snow on the slopes of the Sierra above 7,000 feet, according to meteorologist Tom Dang with the weather service’s Sacramento bureau.
“It looks like the kind of powder that skiers in general tend to like, that light fluffy stuff, so not the Sierra cement,” Dang said. He noted the snow on Thursday and Friday could be preceded by cold rains on Tuesday and Wednesday so skiing conditions would be harder those days.
Those looking to head up to the Sierra at the end of the week would be wise to plan in extra time and bring along snow chains, as Dang said the road conditions could be hazardous, and an occasional road closure isn’t out of the question.
“Probably pretty low visibility driving over the mountain, really slippery conditions,” he said. Travel becomes difficult when there are nearly constant periods of snowfall, and while there may be small breaks, it’s tough to time it out accurately this far in advance.
The rainfall and snow will likely have a beneficial impact on the Sierra snowpack, as well, which as of Sunday was at 35 percent of normal.
In Southern California, the storm could pose a problem for recently burned areas from Santa Barbara and Montecito into the greater Los Angeles area.
Weather specialist Stewart Seto of the weather service in Oxnard said between the start of Tuesday and Thursday night, the region could see between an inch and a half to 4 inches along the coasts and in the valleys, and as much as 3 to 6 inches in the foothills and mountains.
Seto said because of the steep hillsides of some canyons, combined with the effects of the recent wildfires, if rains are consistent and intense enough, it could cause mud and debris flows from streams and rivers.
While no official warnings have been issued yet, Seto said the weather service is working closely with local agencies there to track the systems and prepare.