Potential for more rain, snow in the Mother Lode next week

Forecasts call for sunny, breezy weather with highs near 70 for Thanksgiving Day in the Sonora area, with chances for more rain in the foothills and snow in the mountains beginning Sunday or Monday.

Daytime highs near 70 and the high 60s are expected Thursday, Friday and Saturday for towns in the Mother Lode foothills including Angels Camp, Columbia, and Jamestown. Winds of 10 to 15 miles per hour may be possible Thursday in parts of Calaveras and Tuolumne counties.

More cold weather building in the

Gulf of Alaska is expected to slide down the Pacific Northwest before it tracks inland to the Northern and Central Sierra beginning Sunday. Daytime highs will dip to the low 60s Sunday and into the 40s by Monday and Tuesday.

Rain chances of 60% are possible Monday in Columbia, Sonora and Jamestown, and snow chances are the same higher in the mountains next Monday. Rain chances of 40% are expected Wednesday, and 60% again on Thursday.

The colder system is expected to bring a return of below normal temperatures, including overnight lows in the 40s Monday through Thursday in Sonora. The approaching colder weather could also produce heavy snowfall in parts of the Northern and Central Sierra.

Contact Guy Mccarthy at gmccarthy@uniondemocrat.net or (209) 770-0405. Follow him on Twitter at @Guymccarthy.