As Northern California apears headed for an average rainfall season, the next in a series of storms is forecast to arrive starting Friday with rain in the Bay Area and snow in the Sierra Nevada.
The National Weather Service is forecasting light rain to develop along the coast and in the North Bay on Friday morning before spreading inland during the afternoon.
Rainfall amounts are expected to range from about a half-inch to three-quarters of an inch in most cities, with lesser amounts in some inland valleys. San Francisco and the Peninsula could receive three-quarters of an inch, with the East Bay recording as much as two-thirds, and San Jose and the South Bay a half-inch, according to Drew Peterson, a meteorologist with the weather service.
Enzo Ingwaldson, 7, of Danville, plays in the snow with family members on Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Deborah Hoebel, of San Jose, throws a snowball at the kids as she plays with friends in the snow covered Santa Cruz Mountains along Summit Road on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Special to Bay Area News Group)
Trees are covered in snow at the summit of Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Doug Dahn, 18, Clarke Clemmons, 17, and Harrison Pavel, 18, of Danville, from left, carry surfboards as they hike to the summit of Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A tree is covered with snow near the summit of Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
David and Renee Partridge, and their dog Margie, 13, of Walnut Creek, hike down from the summit of Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A snowy view of the Morgan Territory is seen from near the summit of Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A cyclist makes his way through the snowy hills on Quimby Road in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. However, the road to Mount Hamilton was closed due to icy conditions. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Snow covers the Santa Cruz Mountains along Summit Road on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Special to Bay Area News Group)
A tree is covered with snow near the summit of Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Mark Sinclair shovels a path on the summit of Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A face is seen on a snow-covered sign along a trail Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Mark Armstrong, of San Ramon, takes in the view after hiking to the summit of Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Enzo Ingwaldson, 7, of Danville, makes a snowball on Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A light covering of snow blankets parts of Mount Diablo seen from Walnut Creek, Calif., on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Matt Startsev, 13, of Danville, bikes to the summit of Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Tables are blanketed with snow at Regale Winery as snow covers the Santa Cruz Mountains along Summit Road on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Special to Bay Area News Group)
Gayle Lightfoot, left, and Sue Rohlicek, both of Pleasant Hill, take in the view as they hike to the summit of Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Mark Armstrong, of San Ramon, takes in the view from the observatory after hiking to the summit of Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. It was (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Gayle Lightfoot, front, and Sue Rohlicek, both of Pleasant Hill, hike to the summit of Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A sign is covered with snow on the summit of Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Sue Rohlicek, front, and Gayle Lightfoot, both of Pleasant Hill, hike to the summit of Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Jay Cassianni, of Berkeley, skis down the road from the summit of Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A view of the snow-covered summit of Mount Diablo is seen in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Amore Ingwaldson, 11,right, throws a snowball at her sister Zoe,10, of Danville, on Mount Diablo in unincorporated Contra Costa County on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A light dusting of snow is seen on a graffiti-covered log along Grizzly Peak Boulevard in Berkeley, Calif., on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
(CHP Santa Cruz office)
A pair of skiers shred downhill at Squaw Valley. The resort was one of two
California resorts in Cheaphotel.org’s recent survey of the top ten most
expensive ski resorts in the country. The other was Northstar. (Photo:
Getty Images)
A light covering of snow blankets parts of Mount Diablo as a BART train moves along its track in Walnut Creek, Calif., on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Lincoln Feinstein, 6, of Los Gatos, eats a snowball and walks to school with his mother, Kourtney Feinstein, as snow covers the Santa Cruz Mountains along Summit Road on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Special to Bay Area News Group)
Due to heavy snow storms, visibility was low Tuesday Feb. 5, 2019, in Yosemite Valley, as seen from a webcam operated by Yosemite Conservancy. (Yosemite Conservancy webcam)
(CHP Santa Cruz office)
Pamela Springer of Bolinas retaliates after an attack from her son Orion, 8, during snow throwing fun on Bolinas Ridge Road in Mount Tamalpais State Park, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (James Cacciatore/Marin Independent Journal)
Big storms this week brought up to four feet of snow over the last 48 hours
to Sierra Nevada ski resorts. Northstar received 49 inches between Tuesday
Jan. 15 and Thursday Jan. 17, 2019. (Photo: Northstar California)
John King, Water Resource Engineer of the California Department of Water Resources, Snow Survey Section, skis out with a long aluminum snow depth survey pole and measuring tape, for the second DWR snow survey of the 2019 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on January 31, 2019. (Florence Low/California DWR)
Two men stop to play in the snow Quimby Road in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Snow hangs onto grape vines Regale Winery as snow covers the Santa Cruz Mountains along Summit Road on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Special to Bay Area News Group)
Lizeth Perez, Science and Technology Policy Fellows, at the California Council on Science and Technology assists John King, Water Resource Engineer, of the California Department of Water Resources, Snow Survey Section, with the second DWR snow survey of the 2019 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on January 31, 2019. (Background) Sydney Chamberlin, Science and Technology Policy Fellows, at the California Council on Science and Technology watches as they prepare to weigh the tube to measure the water content of the snow. (Florence Low/California DWR)
Snow covers the trees at Summit Tree Farm on Summit Road on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Special to Bay Area News Group)
Orion Springer Lich, 8, of Bolinas sleds down Bolinas Ridge Road on some cardboard after a light dusting of snow on Mount Tamalpais State Park, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (James Cacciatore/Marin Independent Journal)
A light covering of snow blankets parts of Mount Diablo seen from Walnut Creek, Calif., on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Snow covers the Santa Cruz Mountains along Summit Road on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Special to Bay Area News Group)
Vehicles drive over the summit on Highway 17 as snow covers the Santa Cruz Mountains on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Special to Bay Area News Group)
A light dusting of snow covers the Fremont hills in Fremont, Calif., after a cold night on Feb. 5, 2019. (Photo by Laura A. Oda/MediaNews Group/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
(CHP Santa Cruz office)
A storm brought snow to the East Bay hills east of 680 in Fremont on Tuesday, February 5, 2019. The National Weather Service reports snow fell as low as 1,200 feet throughout the Bay Area. (Sarah Dussault/Bay Area News Group)
All roads in and out of Yosemite National Park were closed on Tuesday Feb. 5, 2019 after four days of heavy snow. (National Park Service)
A light covering of snow blankets parts of Mount Diablo seen from Walnut Creek, Calif., on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
Westin Hoebel, 9, of San Jose, throws a snowball at his mother, Deborah Hoebel, as they play with friends in the snow covered Santa Cruz Mountains along Summit Road on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Special to Bay Area News Group)
Big storms this week brought up to four feet of snow over the last 48 hours
to Sierra Nevada ski resorts. Northstar received 49 inches between Tuesday
Jan. 15 and Thursday Jan. 17, 2019. (Photo: Northstar California)
(CHP Santa Cruz office)
A light dusting of snow lies on a graffiti-covered log along Grizzly
Peak Boulevard in Berkeley, Calif., on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane
Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A light dusting of snow covers the Fremont hills in Fremont, Calif., after a cold night on Feb. 5, 2019. (Photo by Laura A. Oda/MediaNews Group/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
(CHP Santa Cruz office)
A vehicle passes over Highway 17 as snow covers the Santa Cruz Mountains along Summit Road on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Special to Bay Area News Group)
A storm brought snow to the East Bay hills east of 680 in Sunol on Tuesday, February 5, 2019. (Sarah Dussault/Bay Area News Group)
A light dusting of snow covers the Fremont hills near Mission Peak in Fremont, Calif., after a cold night on Feb. 5, 2019. (Photo by Laura A. Oda/MediaNews Group/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
Santa Cruz resident Josh Stiles has a snowball fight with his Hannah Stiles, 6, during a visit to Summit Rd in Los Gatos where a rare snowfall blanketed the Santa Cruz mountains. (Photograph by George Sakkestad)
A light dusting of snow covers logs along Grizzly Peak Boulevard in Berkeley, Calif., on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News
Group)
Snow dusts the vineyards at Ragale Winery on Summit Road on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Special to Bay Area News Group)
A storm brought snow to the East Bay hills east of 680 in Sunol on Tuesday, February 5, 2019. (Sarah Dussault/Bay Area News Group)
Cameron Rhoades, 8, of Santa Cruz, runs in the snow with his dog, Ruca, as snow covers the Santa Cruz Mountains along Summit Road on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Special to Bay Area News Group)
The hills along Quimby Road in San Jose, Calif., are lightly dusted with snow, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. However, the road to Mount Hamilton was closed due to icy conditions at Joseph D. Grant County Park. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Snow dusts the ridge over Novato, Calif. on Tuesday morning, Feb. 5, 2019. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
Snow covers the top of Big Rock Ridge in San Rafael, Calif. on Tuesday morning, Feb. 5, 2019. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)
Sammy Baeza hurls fresh snowballs on Quimby Road in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. However, folks headed to Mount Hamilton were turned back at Joseph D. Grant County Park where the road was closed due to icy conditions. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
The East Hills of San Jose, Calif. are covered in snow, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, with the morning commute on Tully Road in the foreground. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Natalie Schmidt walks with her dogs, Olivia, at left, and Mitzi, at Summit Tree Farm as snow covers the Santa Cruz Mountains along Summit Road on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Special to Bay Area News Group)
Reed Hoebel, 5, of San Jose, tries to evade a snowball thrown by his mother, Deborah Hoebel, as they play with friends in the snow covered Santa Cruz Mountains along Summit Road on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Special to Bay Area News Group)
Cactus growing on Quimby Road in San Jose, Calif., were probably a bit surprised this morning to find themselves covered in snow, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Cadence Froese, 4, of Campbell, picks up a piece of hail from her mother’s glove, Heather Froese, as they play with friends in the snow covered Santa Cruz Mountains along Summit Road on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Los Gatos, Calif. (Jim Gensheimer/Special to Bay Area News Group)
A blanket of snow dusted the Sidney B. Cushing Memorial Theatre near the top of Mount Tamalpais State Park, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (James Cacciatore/Marin Independent Journal)
A street on Mount Davidson in San Francisco, Calif., turns white after a 4:30 AM hailstorm, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Snowboarders look for a run after a blanket of snow dusted the top of Mount Tamalpais State Park, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (James Cacciatore/Marin Independent Journal)
Skiers use a lift at Heavenly Mountain Resort on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. The resort reported that three foot of snow fell between Monday and Tuesday morning. (Courtesy of Heavenly Mountain)
Katrina Natori, left, and her dog Zoe head downhill on Pantoll Road as two snowboarders walk up to look for enough snow for a run near the top of Mount Tamalpais State Park, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (James Cacciatore/Marin Independent Journal)
Santa Cruz resident Josh Stiles has a snowball fight with his daughters, during a visit to Summit Rd in Los Gatos where a rare snowfall blanketed the Santa Cruz mountains on Feb. 5, 2019. (Photograph by George Sakkestad)
A blanket of snow dusted the top of Mount Tamalpais State Park, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (James Cacciatore/Marin Independent Journal)
A blanket of snow dusted the Sidney B. Cushing Memorial Theatre near the top of Mount Tamalpais State Park, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (James Cacciatore/Marin Independent Journal)
A dog takes in the new snow at Heavenly Mountain Resort on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. The resort reported that three foot of snow fell between Monday and Tuesday morning. (Courtesy of Heavenly Mountain)
Harrison Williams, 7, has a snowball fight with friends during a visit to Summit Rd in Los Gatos where a rare snowfall blanketed the Santa Cruz mountains. (Photograph by George Sakkestad)
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The Bay Area’s coastal mountain ranges and hills may receive up to 1.25 inches.
“It looks like just more beneficial rain,” Peterson said of the first storm. “We shouldn’t see flooding concerns with this one.”
Peterson said the second storm will “be coming in on the tail of that first one, dropping in right behind it, Sunday into Monday.” Snow levels in the Bay Area are forecast to lower late Sunday into Monday as a colder air mass impacts the region. The weather service said any lingering showers may produce snowfall in elevations above 3,000 feet Sunday night.
Meteorologists say there is the potential for a third storm in the middle of next week.
“The next couple weeks, the storm door will remain open,” Peterson said. “We’re in mid-winter type of pattern, with a series of systems keeping us cool and wet with maybe a day or two break in-between systems.”
Wednesday, the weather service warned motorists to be wary of black ice on Bay Area roadways, as “pockets of freezing temperatures and water on the ground from previous storms can lead to hazardous morning travel, particularly through mountain passes and over elevated bridges.”
Cold overnight temperatures are expected Wednesday and Thursday before the next storm arrives.
Recent storms have boosted the water picture in the Bay Area. Through Wednesday afternoon, San Francisco received 12.92 inches of rain since Oct. 1, or 91 percent of its historical average, while Oakland was at 10.06 inches or 86 percent, and San Jose’s total hit 8.38 inches or 96 percent.
The upcoming storm also means that travel to the Sierra Nevada will be difficult for the second weekend in a row, with several feet of new snow possible, according to the weather service. Snow levels are expected to be relatively low and passes could receive several feet of new snow.
A flurry of January and early February storms have boosted the statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack, the source of one-third of California’s water supply for farms and cities, to 125 percent of its historical average for this date on Tuesday, up from 69 percent on Jan. 1.
There are still about seven weeks before the end of the winter/snow season on April 1. The Sierra Nevada snowpack has measured at or above its seasonal average just once in the previous seven winters, including the drought years of 2012-2015, where the largest snowpack measured just 54 percent (in 2012).
On April 1, 2017 the snowpack measured 163 percent.
In 2016, the snowpack tallied 86 percent on April 1, and many Bay Area cities received 80 to 100 percent of their average rainfall totals.
Most of the major reservoirs around the state continued to rise as billions of gallons of water poured in from rivers, streams and saturated hillsides, virtually guaranteeing that there won’t be mandatory summer water restrictions in most California cities this summer.
Shasta Lake, the state’s largest reservoir, has risen 36 feet since New Year’s Day, and on Tuesday was 66 percent full, or 97 percent of its historical average. Folsom Lake was 59 percent full, or 112 percent of its historical average for this time of year. And San Luis Reservoir, between Gilroy and Los Banos, was 87 percent full or 109 percent of its historical average.
Staff writer Paul Rogers contributed to this report.
