Cold system from Gulf of Alaska to bring rain, snow
A cold, wet storm system that originated in the Gulf of Alaska will bring with it strong chances of rain and snow to the Mother Lode possibly into Thursday, forecasters with the National Weather Service said Tuesday.
The storm could bring a halfinch to 1 inch of rain to valley towns like Stockton, 1 to 2 inches of rain to foothill towns like Sonora, and 1 to 2 inches of rain in Yosemite Valley, depending on how cold it gets overnight as the storm passes over the Central Sierra. Most rain and snow with this storm system was expected Tuesday and Wednesday.
A winter storm warning was in effect through 7 p.m. Tuesday to 10 p.m. Wednesday for mountain towns like Avery and Arnold on Highway 4, Twain Harte and Mi-wuk Village on Highway 108, and also Buck Meadows on Highway 120.
Overnight lows from Sonora to Soulsbyville were expected to approach freezing temperatures late Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Snow levels with the approaching storm were forecast from 3,500 feet down to 2,000foot elevations.
“This is a cold weather system coming generally from the Gulf of Alaska,” Hannah Chandlercooley, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Sacramento, said Tuesday afternoon in a phone interview. “It’s not super wet like an atmospheric river. It
is bringing enough moisture to be a snow-producing storm in the mountains.”
Rain showers are expected to begin Tuesday afternoon in Calaveras and Tuolumne counties, with chances of thunderstorms as well, Chandler-cooley said. Flash flooding is not expected.
Snow accumulations at pass levels could reach 12 to 18 inches at Carson Pass; 8 to inches at Ebbetts Pass and Sonora Pass; and 6 to 8 inches at Tioga Pass. Thunderstorm chances are through 7 p.m. Tuesday and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Thunderstorm cells could bring chances of thundersnow, with Intense snow rates possible in stronger cells Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday evening, National Weather Service forecasters said.
Depending on the volatility of thunderstorm cells, the approaching storm could bring winds gusting 20 to 25 miles per hour in wind-vulnerable locations including mountain ridges and peaks.
Dry weather is expected to return Thursday and into the weekend, with potential for more wet weather returning early next week.