Overnight rain to be replaced by chilly temperatures

In a rare 2020 occurrence, a wet, damp, cold morning greeted Bay Area residents Thursday after steady rain fell during the overnight hours.

Only the cold will stick around.

“That’s about all we’re going to see for the rain,” National Weather Service meteorolog ist Brayden Murdock said Thursday morning. “It’s pretty much clearing out. That last bit of it is on line with Southern Monterrey, but it’s really pushing East right now, so we’ll have to wait for the next (system) before we see anything else.”

In in the interim, Murdock said it will remain chilly. The highs throughout the region on Thursday are not expected to get past 62 degrees, and overnight temperatures are expected to fall into the 30s in most areas. In areas of the far East Bay, forecasters predicted low temperatures in the range of 34 degrees.

By the weekend, those temperatures are expected to creep up a bit, Murdock said, but meteorologists are unsure when the next system bringing precipitation will manifest. High pressure will start to build again Thursday, and Murdock said the weather models show that dry weather will last at least into the Christmas holiday.

That’s in keeping with a region that’s already lagging behind its usual rain totals. The rain on Thursday and the small amount that fell last weekend marked the first time since Nov. 18 that the Bay Area had seen measurable totals.

The heaviest rain fell in areas of southern Alameda County, and central and west Contra Costa County, all of which saw totals of just over a half-inch. According to Murdock, .57 inches fell in Richmond, .53 in Clayton and .52 in Hayward.

T he rain wa s much lighter in the South Bay, where the totals were closer to a quarter- inch. San Jose Airport reported a 24- hour total of .29 inches Thursday morning at 8 a. m., Murdock said. The Santa Cruz and North Bay mountains had their usual heavier rain, with more than a half-inch falling there.

“The closer to the mountains you were, the less rain you had, because it fell heavier in the higher elevations” Murdock said.

In the Sierra Nevada, snow fell steadily and was expected to end by around 11 a.m.. Chain controls were in effect on Interstate 80.