Another pair of storm systems are set to drop rain and snow on the Sacramento region and up into the Sierra starting Wednesday, though not as much as what Northern California saw last week.
“We're looking at about a quarter of an inch or so for the Sacramento Valley, higher probabilities of more precipitation the further north you go,” said Jeffery Wood, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.
Wood said the best chances of rain start Wednesday morning and run through the early afternoon on Thursday. In the mountains, the storm will remain warmer with little snow accumulation or travel delays expected through Thursday.
“We're forecasting snow levels to be about 6,000 to 7,000 feet from the system on Wednesday and Thursday and generally 1 to 3 inches is what we're forecasting,” Wood said.
Another system is forecast to come through Friday into Saturday, though, which could be colder and bring more snow to the region ahead of the new year.
“The system will be a little bit colder as you go up into the mountains with snow levels … forecast to be about 5,500 to 6,500 feet,” Wood said. “We are forecasting a little bit more snowfall with this weekend system, so anywhere from about 4 to 8 inches is what we're looking for at pass levels.”
In the valley, the rain forecast will be similar to the Wednesday storm, with around a half inch expected in Sacramento and higher totals further north.
Overall, it will be lighter than the storms that hit last week. Sacramento recorded around 2 inches of rain in the four days ending Dec. 20, with strong thunderstorms and some local flooding. The weather service also recorded a brief EF-1 tornado that touched down near Oroville in Butte County, which uprooted trees and toppled a light pole.
In between those systems Sacramento also saw some unseasonably warm temperatures, tying the record high for Dec. 22 by reaching 67 degrees, which was set in 1999. Stockton and Modesto also set record-highs on the same day, topping out at 68 and 66 degrees, respectively.
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