Be prepared to get out your umbrellas and raincoats as sustained rainfall and mountain snow at higher elevations are forecast to continue through the week.
According to meteorologist Dakari Anderson from the National Weather Service, moderate rain is forecast to start on Tuesday and may cause slick roads and street flooding in the Sacramento region. He added that the forecast initially predicted a more significant storm, but new data suggests that rain and snow will be less severe than expected.
“This is the beginning of the wet season for the area,” Anderson said. “I wouldn't necessarily say the first big wet ‘storm’ … we've had more substantial rain events in the past month.”
The weather service cannot predict the exact timing of precipitation, but Anderson said light rainfall will likely start on Tuesday morning, with an estimated half-inch to an inch of rain expected for the region by Friday.
He added that commuters in Northern California should prepare for wet road conditions, like flooded roadways and longer commutes. Anderson also said drivers should prepare their cars for winter and exercise greater caution.
About 2 to 4 inches of snow are expected to drop, primarily south of Interstate 80, with the highest probability of snowfall on Wednesday night through Thursday. Forecasters do not consider this much snowfall to be a significant amount for the northern mountains.
Anderson said the region’s storm can be attributed to a coastal low-pressure system, shaping the weather pattern for the upcoming days. The storm coming in is located off the coast of California and is responsible for the rainy weather the region will experience from Tuesday morning onwards.
Current forecast data predicts more consistent rainy weather this season. Still, Anderson said he didn’t see another storm soon, at least in the coming weeks.
"We've had more substantial rain events in the past month, but it probably will be a longer rain event than we've seen in recent weeks. Looking at storm total amounts — [generally] around a half an inch for the Sacramento area by Friday morning,” Anderson said.
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