Spring is going to take a one-day break in the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada Saturday as a brief but cold late season storm rushes through.
While Friday will continue the sunny and dry conditions we’ve had recently, with high temperatures in the 80s, this weekend that could drop down to the 60s.
“The storm is going to be moving in dropping our high temperatures down about 20 degrees as well as bringing widespread rain to the valley and snow up in this year about 5,000 feet up to about a foot or more at the highest elevations,” said Bill Rasch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.
Sacramento could see a half to 1 inch of rain, while 4-8 inches of snow could fall at higher elevations in the Sierra. The weather service has issued a winter weather advisory for areas above 5,000 feet along the Sierra from 11 a.m. Saturday through 8 a.m. Sunday.
"The thing we're most worried about is that there will be periods of heavy snow, about an inch, maybe even two inches an hour starting tomorrow afternoon and evening and that's going to reduce visibility.” Rasch said. “The good thing about these spring storms is usually the ground and the roads are pretty warm so there's not too much accumulation on the roads."
While It's not unusual for the Sierra to get snow in May, this storm is a little stronger than we’re used to seeing this time of year, Rasch said. This weekend’s system is also forming like a typical winter storm.
“It is just like a storm we would get in January to be honest with you,” he said. “It's dropping down from the Gulf of Alaska, moving south over to the area, pulling in some moisture from the Pacific. So it's originating from a cold place up in the Gulf of Alaska and it's going to be bringing that snow and colder temperatures."
The good news is that the storm will move through the region quickly, with temperatures likely back in the 70s on Monday and 80s by midweek.
"It's a fast mover,” Rasch said. “Rain in the valley tomorrow. Snow up in the Sierra by the afternoon and through the evening and then drying out by Sunday."
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