Rain, and even some snow, expected for turkey day

Although a basically bone- dry November in Northern California might have knocked the wind out of our normal storm season, next week could bring much- needed rain and leave us with a wet Thanksgiving and Black Friday. And we could see some hail and perhaps a light dusting of snow atop Mount Hamilton and Mount Diablo.

The Sierra Nevada may see even more of the white stuff.

Though Southern California this week saw rain and even some snowfall and temperatures fell to the low 60s as the season’s inaugural storm moved on through, the San Francisco Bay Area has had to cool its heels a few more days before it gets the same wet treatment. But come Tuesday evening, the area could see up to half an inch of rain by the time Wednesday morning rolls around.

The rain should continue through the end of the week as turkey day temperatures drop into the low 50s by day and low 40s by night. The reason: a low-pressure system coming in our direction from the north, said meteorologist Spencer Tangen of the National Weather Service in Monterey.

“It’s not quite an atmospheric river, but the system is coming from the Gulf of Alaska, which means it’ll be cold and pretty quick-moving,” he said. “But that also means we won’t see long-lasting, flooding rains, either.”

Tangen said that the rain, combined with possibly gusty winds, could affect commuters and holiday flights into and out of Bay Area airports starting Tuesday evening.

“And if the winds at SFO are strong, out-of-the-south winds, that would have some impact on flights.”

The rainy weather comes at just the right time for the region, reducing the threat of wildfires that again prompted PG&E to shut down power to thousands of Northern California customers.

This week, the utility was concerned enough about high winds and dry conditions to turn off power to 120,000 customers, though by Thursday the lights were starting to come back on for many.

Still, forecasters with the National Weather Service are watching out for winds that could pose problems Tuesday, even as the rain starts to fall.

Meteorologist Anna Schneider told this newspaper that it was still too soon to determine exactly how much of a threat those winds will pose.

Tangen also cautioned holiday travelers driving through the Sierra Nevada as the rain, wind and snow could make driving to Lake Tahoe challenging.

“The Sierra hasn’t seen much heavy snowfall so far this season,” he said. “But next week’s storm has the potential to bring quite a bit more snow to the mountains.”