The rain that made for hazardous commute-hour travel Thursday morning likely will give way to patchy fog early today.
The storm that moved through the area Thursday dropped 0.53 inches of rain in downtown Sacramento, said Drew Peterson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
"That was pretty indicative of the greater Sacramento area," he said, noting that the highest rainfall figure was two-thirds of an inch, recorded at Sacramento International Airport.
The bulk of the rain fell between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. and may have contributed to two vehicle crashes that snarled morning commute traffic.
The first occurred about 6:30 a.m. when a big rig crashed into the center divider on Interstate 5 just south of Seamas Avenue, stalling traffic in both directions.
The second crash occurred about 7 a.m. on a rain-slick Capital City Freeway, when an eastbound motorist hit a tree in the center divider near Arden Way and was killed.
The storm was expected to have moved out of the Valley by this morning.
"It will probably look pretty unsettled to people looking out in the sky," Peterson said, "but there's not a great chance of precipitation until Sunday."
Because of the cloud cover, highs in the Sacramento area today and through the weekend are expected to be in the low 70s, with overnight lows around 50.
The average high for the Sacramento area this time of year is 68 degrees, Peterson said, but he noted that Thursday's storm was preceded by a high of 80 degrees. Highs are expected to creep back into the 80s by the middle of next week.
For the Sierra, a slight chance of showers is forecast through the weekend, with a possibility of snow in ski areas late Sunday or early Monday.
"A cold system is dropping in from Canada that will bring a lot of cold air," Peterson said, "but the bulk of the energy will go into Nevada."
High temperatures in the low to mid-50s are forecast for the Truckee and South Lake Tahoe areas through the weekend, with overnight lows in the upper 20s and low 30s.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.
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