New year started out cold in Sacramento, but not quite freezing. What’s the weekend outlook?
Sacramento weather has been colder than normal and may feel freezing, but it came just short of falling below 32 degrees overnight as warmer-but-wetter conditions are approaching the region this weekend.
Historically, the stretch between Dec. 28 and Jan. 11 is the coldest of the year for Sacramento, averaging a low temperature of 40 degrees and a high of 53 each of those days, according to Intellicast data.
The National Weather Service predicts a high of 53 degrees and a low of 34 degrees Wednesday in Sacramento. Those morning lows will warm up as the week progresses, back up into the low-to-mid-40s by Saturday.
A storm system will hit the Sacramento Valley and the mountains starting as early as Friday night. Saturday and Sunday will be the wettest, with off-and-on showers possible through Tuesday or Wednesday.
Sacramento is forecast to get between a half-inch and 1 inch of precipitation Saturday morning through Sunday night. Downtown Sacramento had 2.65 inches of rain recorded all of December, with more than 1.5 inches of it coming in a two-day span (Dec. 16-17).
NWS tweeted Wednesday that the upcoming storm will create “enough snow in the mountains to create travel issues,” for those still trekking through the snow after the winter holidays. In other words, chain controls are a strong possibility.
This story was originally published January 2, 2019 at 10:50 AM.
