Hallelujah! An Early-Season Storm is Forecast to Soak Northern California
With wildfire season beginning to reach its peak in Northern California, Mother Nature is sending us a lifeboat in the form of a wet storm forecast to hit the region this weekend.
On Saturday evening, the storm is expected to enter NorCal and begin raining along the coast. By Sunday night, the entire region is expected to get hit by a downpour, with some areas forecast to receive 2 inches through Wednesday. Here is the forecast from the National Weather Service:
Wet weather is still on for later this weekend – next week! Timing for initial rain is a bit delayed, but overall the forecast is on track for rain across all of interior #NorCal. Best chances for widespread precip are Sun evening – Mon. Keep up to date with the forecast! #cawx pic.twitter.com/XOcXCsQ1qS
— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) September 16, 2022
How big is this storm? If the forecast holds up, areas of NorCal could see over 1000% of their normal September rainfall from just one storm.
The best part of this storm is that it’s expected to hit areas with actively burning fires, including the Mosquito Fire just west of Lake Tahoe, along with the smaller fires currently burning in Siskiyou County and Yosemite. Although this wet weather won’t be enough to end fire season, it certainly brings some hope that no large, destructive fires will start this fall.
What’s also interesting is that snow is expected to fall on high-elevation areas above 8,000 feet, meaning we could see snow in the Sierra and on Mount Shasta by next week. It’s not often we see fresh snow on the mountains this early in the fall.
As with every early-season storm, expect tough travel conditions on the roadways. Foreign substances that have fallen on the roadways over the summer will come to the surface, causing slick conditions for all drivers. If you don’t have to travel, we recommend a nice relaxing rain day in the comfort of your own home.
