Storms will break Northern California’s dry pattern. Will it rain in Sacramento?
Northern California is expecting a storm in the coming days, with Sacramento forecast to see about a quarter-inch of rain early in the week.
The storm arrives as Northern California shifts out of a prolonged high-pressure pattern that brought dry, warmer weather and valley fog through much of January.
That shift to a low-pressure pattern is expected to open “the storm door,” allowing multiple storm systems to move through the region over the next week or two, said Katrina Hand, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office.
Precipitation is expected to start Monday night with the heaviest precipitation Tuesday before tapering off by Wednesday. Dry weather is in the forecast Thursday, followed by another possible storm starting Friday and lasting through the weekend.
“The (precipitation) numbers aren’t quite as high as some storms that we had earlier in the winter, but still could produce slick road conditions and minor travel delays,” Hand said, encouraging residents to give themselves extra time for morning and evening commutes on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We haven’t gotten precipitation in a while for the Sacramento area. (We are) encouraging people to pay attention to the forecast and road conditions if they have any mountain travel plans, just to be aware of this pattern change and the stormy weather over the coming days.”
For the Sierra Nevada mountain, snow is expected from Monday evening through Wednesday, with the heaviest precipitation between Tuesday and Wednesday, with forecasts calling for about 10 to 18 inches above 6,000 feet and roughly 4 to 10 inches around 5,000 feet.
The weather service issued a winter weather advisory from 10 p.m. Monday through 4 p.m. Wednesday for the mountains.
The second storm, which is forecast to begin Friday and last through the weekend for Northern California, may be wetter and colder than the first, Hand said, bringing more precipitation and lower snow levels.
