SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rain moving through the area on Sunday morning is the start to the first storm of the week.
One way to think about Sunday’s rain is as an appetizer. Moderate rain and scattered showers are expected throughout the day. A quarter to three quarters of an inch of rain is expected Sunday.
Winds will be picking up Sunday 15-20 miles per hour, with a Wind Advisory going into effect 4 a.m. Monday, until 10 p.m. Monday.
Winds are expected to be 20-30 mph with gusts as high as 50 mph. Snow in the Sierra will be around 3,500 feet and rising into the afternoon Sunday.
Monday will be the main event of the storm, or the entrée. Heavier rain and bigger downpours are anticipated. One to two inches of rain may fall Monday.
Winds will be increasing into the mid morning hours as the cold front pushes through, after stalling out a bit the night before. 20-30 mph winds will be possible in the valley with 50 mph winds possible for the Sierra. Sierra gusts may top 70 mph.
Cold air returns to the forecast between storm systems. This will drop overnight lows but also drop snow levels into Tuesday morning.
A trough in the jet stream will dig south Tuesday morning allowing skies to become partly cloudy. This allows colder air to move in and will drop snow levels as low as 1,500 feet Tuesday morning.
Any remaining snow may fall at lower levels but is not expected to accumulate much. Snow levels will rise throughout the morning.
A short break between Tuesday and Wednesday may provide some sprinkles, otherwise the second system is set to arrive Wednesday afternoon into Thursday. This system may provide as much as an inch more of rainfall to the valleys and more snow for the Sierra. By the end of the two systems, rain totals may be close to 3-4 inches in the valley and 4-7 inches for the foothills.
This week's storm systems are expected to provide feet of snow for the Sierra. Most of the Sierra will experience between 2-5 feet of snow. Above 6,000 feet, some passes and peaks could experience 6-8 feet of snow.
A break from the rain will come Friday with sunshine into the weekend.
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