San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Snow gives way to rain in Bay Area
The snowstorm that turned parts of the Bay Area white Friday waned Saturday into rain showers, although authorities still urged drivers to use caution as freezing overnight temperatures at higher elevations could ice roads.
Jeff Lorber, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, predicted light rain showers across the Bay Area.
The agency reported freezing temperatures as low as 30 degrees in the North Bay hills and Santa Cruz Mountains at 7 a.m. Saturday. The authority had warned Friday that overnight freezing “means the potential for black ice on the roads becomes a dangerous threat for motorists ... even along the valley floor.”
Any precipitation at those elevations would have been light snow, but as of 8 a.m., Lorber had not heard any significant reports. Snow less than an inch would probably melt as the temperatures rose into the 40s and 50s by the afternoon, although more substantial snowfall wouldn’t go away, he said.
The 511 traffic monitoring system showed roads mostly clear in the Bay Area on Saturday morning, with some downed trees blocking Highway 35 in Woodside and Portola Valley.
The Bay Area could expect more light rain and higher temperatures Sunday, with snow expected only on peaks above 3,000 feet. Temperatures may drop again Monday and could add some substantial snowfall to peaks above 2,500 feet, including Mount Hamilton, Lorber said.
The storm that whitened the Bay Area on Friday moved down Saturday to Southern California. The California Highway Patrol
reported that as of 2 a.m. the Grapevine on Interstate 5 was closed in both directions. Snow continued to fall, with ice building up on the roadway, making it unsafe for motorists.
“We do not know how long this closure will be in place,” the agency said.
In lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada, forecasters predicted lingering light showers Saturday, mainly south of Interstate 80. It was a reprieve before another storm system is expected to wallop the mountains Sunday, rendering travel hazardous. A winter storm watch was announced from Sunday afternoon until Wednesday afternoon.
Officials closed Yosemite National Park late Saturday morning until Wednesday because of severe winter conditions.
Both I-80 and Highway 50 were open Saturday morning over the mountain passes, but chain controls were in effect, according to Caltrans. On I-80, chains were required on all vehicles from Nyack in Placer County to Truckee going eastbound, and from Stateline, Nev., to Nyack going westbound. On Highway 50, drivers needed chains going eastbound from Placerville to Pollock Pines, and westbound from Kyburz to Meyers.
Above 8,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada, weather was already severe Saturday. The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning until 4 p.m.
Travel could be difficult to impossible, the agency warned. Strong winds could cause tree damage, and cold wind chills as low as 30 degrees below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.