A decent Bay Area soaking left the region wet in the early part of this week, and now it will have several days to dry out, forecasters said Wednesday.
It may need them all, given that the chilly temperatures are expected to last.
“The next two nights and mornings will be very cold,” National Weather Service meteorologist Rick Canepa said Wednesday morning. “It won’t be warm.”
Temperatures are expected to dip into the 30s overnight through much of the region, Some spots in the North Bay, such as Santa Rosa, are forecast to fall to 34 degrees overnight by the end of the week.
The weather service put out a frost advisory for most inland parts of the region.
Frost and freezing temperatures are possible tonight for inland areas. Make sure to protect sensitive vegetation and check up on those without adequate shelter. Cold temps return again on Thursday night into Friday AM. #cawx pic.twitter.com/RE7eaBMTIb
— NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) November 9, 2022
“The low-pressure system itself comes directly from the high latitudes,” Canepa said. “So that displacement of the cold air from up there is what has been and will be moving through.”
Some rain still fell early Wednesday in isolated parts of the region, according to Canepa, but the heaviest came down Tuesday. Watsonville in Santa Cruz County received .48 inches, and Mt. Umunhum in the Santa Cruz Mountains received .43 inches over a 24-hour period ending at 11 a.m., the highest totals in the region.
Elsewhere, .38 inches fell at San Francisco International Airport; .35 inches in Hayward, .32 inches on Mount Diablo; .26 inches in Oakland; and .04 inches in San Jose.
In the Sierra, the storm dumped more than 3½ feet of snow at Dodge Ridge over a four-day span from Sunday to Wednesday. Three feet of snow fell at Bear Valley and just under 3 feet fell at Kirkwood Mountain Resort. Sugar Bowl received near 2½ feet of snow, and Palisades Tahoe had 2 feet.
Chains were required on Interstate 80 at Truckee on Wednesday morning. U.S. Highway 50 also required chains near Meyers.
❄️Fresh snow totals are in! Here is a look at storm total snow (Sunday – Wednesday morning). #CAwx pic.twitter.com/cxTTxQlR24
— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) November 9, 2022
“The center of the low-pressure system is straddling Nevada and Idaho, so we are on the back side of it,” Canepa said. “There’s still a few showers left on the back side, but the air is becoming more stable aloft. So that favors dry conditions through the week.”
The forecast model also shows that offshore winds blowing from the north to northeast could develop next week. Such winds often are an indicator of a bigger fire danger, but fire officials throughout the state said the last two storms have eased fire concerns.
It is not known when another storm may pass through the area, Canepa said. Forecast models have shown that there might be a possibility in two weekends, but Canepa said it’s too soon to draw any firm conclusions.
Source: www.mercurynews.com