CALIFORNIA – Winter has truly come for the state of California. In the midst of an ongoing drought, and reputably sunny days, the state could be in for a seasonal deluge of precipitation. With parts of California already experiencing rainfall, some new storms are looking to bring further rain through the weekend and beyond.
"The storm this weekend will be the latest in a series of major storms to affect the West Coast this winter," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson. "The storms are piping a river of moisture into the region from the Pacific Ocean and will go a long way toward drought relief but at a price."
The next couple of days will find rain centered over northern California, with a new storm system arriving on Friday or Saturday with a much further reach into lower parts of the state. According to AccuWeather, land and air transportation will begin to be affected over the weekend due to low cloud ceilings, wet conditions, and gusty winds.
Over the 60 hours of direct rainfall that the Weather Advisory Service expects over the weekend and into next week will see over 8 inches of rain in Watsonville, around 5 inches in Salinas, and 2-3 inches in the central and southern Salinas Valley. From there, the weather institution expects the rain to lighten until Thursday for the next round of fast-moving storms.
The Weather Advisory Service stated that the day before the next storm hits, whether that be Friday or early Saturday, may be the last fully dry day that California experiences for the next two weeks as the storms continue.
Northern California will also be at increased risk of flooding from heightened snow levels and falling rain through Monday, according to the Weather Advisory Service. Higher elevation points can pick up 1-2 feet of snow from the storm, in addition to a further 2-4 feet of snow that will come next week.
How will the weather shift over the next few days, and will California stay wet for the time being? AndNowUKnow will keep you updated.
