Rain, snow and fog are on the way -- through next weekend

A mix of rain, snow, fog, freezing and breezy weather is in store for the Sacramento area this week.

A series of storms will bring rain to the valley and snow to the mountains, while dense patches of fog will hover some mornings and Tuesday night lows might dip to around freezing

"It might be a chilly night on Tuesday, with lows around freezing," said Holly Osborne, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. "We have a cold air mass with clearing skies, which will lead to freezing temperatures."

In the valley, light showers are expected this afternoon and evening, with rain possible overnight, she said.

Osborne said there will be breezes today and tomorrow with the arrival of the storm. Rain will taper off Monday afternoon, and more scattered showers are predicted early Tuesday, drying out by that evening.

Forecasters expect a quarter- to a third-inch of rain will fall in the Sacramento area during Sunday night's storm, Osborne said. The rain will add to the current seasonal total of 8.85 inches, or 157 percent of normal.

December precipitation stands at 2.94 inches in the Sacramento area, just below the 30-year normal of 3.48 inches. The wettest December on record in Sacramento was 13.4 inches in 1852, Osborne said.

A winter storm warning is in effect in the Sierra Nevada mountains from 6 p.m. Sunday to midnight Monday, with snow dropping in the higher elevations, around 4,000 feet. By Tuesday, snow levels will dip to the 2,000-foot elevations, but precipitation will be tapering off, Osborne said.

Fog will return to the valley Wednesday morning, with dense patches in areas.

Another storm will sweep through on Thursday, continuing through Friday and possibly into the weekend.

"The northern part of valley foothills could get snow Thursday night when the precipitation hits," Osborne said.

High temperatures for the valley are forecast in the lower 50s today, the mid-50s tomorrow. Tuesday's high will drop to around 50, continuing through Wednesday and Thursday, while Friday will edge up to the lower 50s again, and continuing through the weekend.

• Read more articles by Anne Gonzales

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