Sacramento gets showers and possible midday thunderstorm on first day of spring

The first official day of spring could see fog, rain and thunderstorms in the Sacramento area.

The latest National Weather Service forecast predicts light showers Wednesday in Sacramento, with a chance of heavier rain in the event of a thunderstorm. A thunderstorm would be most likely shortly after 11 a.m.

Fog was also observed in Sacramento during morning commute hours.

The Sacramento Valley can expect light rain off-and-on through Saturday. Winds should remain calm.

Back-to-back systems

This week’s storm system has already produced a noticeable cool-down from the mid-70s weather at the start of the week.

High temperatures have fallen to the low 60s, where they’ll remain through Saturday.

After a quick reprieve of sun for most of Thursday, another relatively weak storm system will hit Northern California, bringing showers to the Valley and snow to the mountains starting Friday.

Precipitation should start clear out by about Saturday night, with the temperatures forecast to warm up to a high of about 67 by Sunday.

Mountain snow

Snow fell in the high elevation of the mountains early Wednesday morning, from about 5,000 to 6,000 feet.

The Tahoe area got between 1 to 3 inches of new snow overnight, while parts of Mono County got as much as 6 inches, according to NWS Reno.

Light to moderate snowfall is also expected during the weekend system, falling as low as 4,500 feet Saturday, forecasts show.

As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, Caltrans said no chain controls were in place on Highway 50 or Interstate 80, but officials encouraged mountain travelers to be cautious as snow and wet roads remain.

This story was originally published March 20, 2019 at 9:48 AM.