A brief spell of sunny winter weather in California will come to an end this week with a series of storms cued up to bring snow and rain to parts of the state over the next few days.
After a weak storm kicks off the week with light rain in Southern California, a stronger and colder system is expected to deliver more widespread precipitation up and down the state on Wednesday and Thursday, soaking coastal areas, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, and dumping several feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada.
A third storm expected to bring more rain and snow to Northern California over the weekend.
“We’re going from sunshine and 60 degrees to cold, wet and rainy,” said Chad Hecht, a meteorologist with the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the University of California San Diego.
The storms are likely to be the state’s last big shot at significant amounts of precipitation before the end of winter, when the state receives most of its annual rain and snowfall.
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“In the last couple of years, we’ve had storms in April, but they tend to be less frequent,” said Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center.
The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, a crucial water source for the state, was 81 percent of the historic average as of Monday, and any storms that arrive in March could help offset the deficit. While the northern Sierra has received an onslaught of storms that built up a big snowpack, the southern half has seen much less precipitation.
A big snow dump is expected in the Sierra.
The first chance for rain comes late Monday into Tuesday as a storm system moves into California. While Northern California is expected to experience more clouds than actual rain, Southern California, especially areas closer to the Mexico border, is forecast to receive light rain. Downtown Los Angeles is expected to record less than a third of an inch and San Diego up to a half-inch.
A colder and more robust, yet quick-hitting, system is forecast to dive down from the Gulf of Alaska and arrive in Northern California as early as Tuesday night, before spreading into Central and Southern California. Rain and snow are expected across the state Wednesday through Thursday.
“This is a widespread system that’s going to affect much of the state, which has not been the case with many storms this year,” Mr. Hurley said.
Urban areas of the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles metropolitan area could record one to two inches of rain during this period.
The California Coastal Ranges, stretching between Del Norte and Humboldt Counties to the north and Santa Barbara County to the south, are poised to receive up to four inches of precipitation. South of those, the Transverse Ranges are likely to receive similar amounts.
With all this heavy rain, there’s a marginal risk for excessive rainfall that could lead to flooding, in the full length of the state at the coast and in the Central Valley from Wednesday morning to Thursday morning, according to the Weather Prediction Center. A higher “slight risk” level is expected for Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, especially late Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
This storm is predicted to be a big snow maker for the Sierra Nevada, with up to four feet of snow possible on Donner Summit, which many people drive over on Highway 80 as they travel between the Sacramento Valley and the Tahoe Basin. To the south in Yosemite National Park, the highest elevations could receive up to three feet of snow and the valley close to one foot.
“This is definitely a colder system than we’re accustomed to in March, not too unusual but colder than we’ve seen in a while for March,” said Brian Ochs, a meteorologist with the Weather Service office in Hanford, Calif.
Snow could fall at elevations as low as 3,000 to 4,000 feet on Wednesday, and could even get down to 2,500 feet on Thursday, Mr. Hurley said. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Mount Diablo in the East Bay and Mount Hamilton in the South Bay are expected to receive dustings.
A break from the stormy weather is expected before yet another storm arrives, most likely mainly affecting Northern California and bringing additional rainfall. The forecast will fluctuate before that storm arrives, Mr. Hecht said.