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8h ago

Northern California Braces for Weekend Storms With Heavy Rain, Strong Winds and Feet of Sierra Snow

Forecasters warn of flash-flood risk near burn scars as falling snow levels threaten difficult Sierra travel.

Scattered showers continue in the Valley today mixed with a little sun and temps in the upper 50s to low 60s. The foothills are seeing some t-storms with heavier rain. All this activity will wind down overnight with Friday looking mostly dry, some sun and above normal temps around 60 degrees. Next round of rain moves in Friday night with more showers and possible thunderstorms Saturday afternoon. Wet weather continues Sunday and Monday. Winds will increase over the next few days with the strongest on Saturday, south winds 10-25 Gusts to 40 mph. Snow levels are dropping, but currently around 7000 ft and should stay between 6-7000 ft through Saturday. This means wet, sloppy snow over the passes. A drop in temps is expected Saturday night into Sunday which will increase the hazards of driving over the passes with greater snow accumulation on the roads.
Today will be a good day for any storm clean-up or prep as our next system takes aim at the region, this time bringing wind.
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Overview

  • Friday offers mainly dry daytime hours before rain returns this evening and continues in waves through Monday.
  • Saturday and Sunday feature the most intense rainfall, with isolated rates near 0.5 inches per hour elevating debris-flow and flash-flood concerns on recent burn scars.
  • A Wind Advisory covers the northern Sacramento Valley with south winds of 10–25 mph and gusts to 40 mph, while Beach Hazard Statements flag hazardous surf along the coast.
  • Snow levels fall from near pass level Saturday to about 5,500 feet Sunday and 5,000 feet Monday, with multi-foot accumulations likely on Donner Summit and higher totals near Carson and Sonora passes.
  • Isolated thunderstorms are possible both days, including a fast-moving round early Sunday that could add 1–2 inches of rain and prompt chain controls or brief Caltrans closures over the passes.