What’s next for wild Sacramento weather? Here’s the latest forecast for wind and rain

Frosty temperatures, light showers and the wonder of snow have made this week’s forecast a bit unpredictable.

As we near the end of the week, Sacramento gears up for overnight showers on Thursday with predicted strong winds, according to the National Weather Service.

“(Thursday night) we will see that heavier round of precipitation with a lower snow level,” said Cory Mueller National Weather Service meteorologist. “So we will see what that will bring.”

Snow was predicted overnight Wednesday at low elevations, but only a bit of graupel or hail fell in the Sacramento area.

Here’s an overview of precipitation totals this week and what’s to come.

Overnight precipitation totals

“This first wave we expected it to be pretty light,” said Mueller. “ Especially in the lower elevations.”

Wednesday afternoon brought light showers and hail over some parts of Sacramento.

Most of the region didn’t have measurable precipitation, but Roseville and Placerville picked up 0.01 inches, according to the weather service.

What’s to come

Thursday is expected to bring heavier showers throughout Sacramento, according to the weather service.

“We’ll see some scattered showers, isolated thunderstorms for this afternoon,” Mueller said. “Then we’ll see increasing precipitation chances late evening into overnight and continue into Friday.”

Overnight Thursday is expected to pick up with gusts of 40 to 45 mph, according to the weather service.

A wind advisory has been put in place Thursday into Friday.

Temperatures in Sacramento will dip into the 30s overnight and hover in the 50s at their highs.

Rain is anticipated to break Saturday and pick back up on Sunday, the seven-day forecast says, lasting at least until early next week.

What about the snow?

Its unlikely Sacramento will see any true snow — but the northern and western parts of the Valley might. Overnight Thursday, there’s a chance of snow as low as 500 feet elevation. It’s more likely around the 1,000 to 2,000 elevations and in the Sierra.

In the mountains, the snow storm continues into Sunday night, according to the weather service.

This story was originally published February 23, 2023 at 10:23 AM.