Wet Christmas likely as weak storm heads to Bay Area

It may not be a white Christmas in the Bay Area, but for many, it could be a wet one.

While the region is set to get a break from rain on Monday and Tuesday after a wet weekend, forecasters say a new storm system will be coming to town by Tuesday evening and into Christmas morning, albeit a weak one.

“That system right now does not look to be a big rainmaker,” Roger Gass, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service said Sunday.

“But nonetheless, we could see some light rain showers, maybe moderate rain showers at times Christmas Eve during the nighttime hours into early in the day on Wednesday,” Gass said.

But before Christmas, many last-minute Santas headed to malls and shopping centers Sunday will need to contend with wet weather and slick roads, which as of Sunday morning appeared to be contributing to dozens of crashes and spinouts, according to the California Highway Patrol.

“We would just ask that people would slow down, and give themselves extra time to get where their going,” Officer John Fransen with the CHP said Sunday morning.

“We’re blessed in California to usually have pretty temperate conditions as far as the weather is concerned, and when we get into the rainy season, people tend to drive like they normally do, instead of slowing down,” he said.

If windshield wipers are needed, then your car’s headlights need to be on, Fransen said, to help other drivers see you. Fransen also said drivers should avoid driving through standing water.

If you see a pocket of standing water on the highway and can’t avoid it, Fransen said the best advice is to let off the accelerator, don’t hit the brakes, and don’t make any sharp turning moves, and hold the wheel steady so when the car comes out of the water its tires can regain a grip on the road.

Gass said the rain band from the current storm system is pushing through the region across much of the East Bay and South Bay, and headed toward Monterey.

The rains should taper off by Sunday night, and “mostly dry” conditions are expected Monday and Tuesday, he said.

In the 24 hours ending Sunday morning, the system hitting the region had brought about one-half to three-fourths of an inch of rain to the wettest areas in the North Bay, while in the East Bay and downtown San Francisco, just above a quarter-inch of rain had dropped.

In San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley, Gass said only about a tenth of an inch was recorded falling.

While the upcoming weather system will bring only a little rain on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, keep your hat, coat, sash, and boots at the ready, as Gass said things could get a bit cold in the overnight hours.

The daytime high temperatures are likely going to be in the mid-50s through Tuesday. However, Sunday night into Monday, look for widespread lows in the mid-30s for inland East Bay valleys, and 40s around the Bay, Gass said.

Monday night into Tuesday morning may be one of the colder nights, with San Jose and inland South Bay places hovering in the upper 30s.

And about that white Christmas? Well, it’s not completely out of the question.

“We may see some snow in the region’s highest peaks” that are 4,000 feet and higher, Gass said, such as Mount Hamilton in Santa Clara County, Mount St. Helena in the North Bay, and Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County.