California is set for its first prolonged stretch of widespread stormy weather over the next week, and the snowstorm weather forecast in California now points to rain, wind, snow and dangerous surf arriving in stages. The first storm could reach the North Bay by late Thursday night, with Friday bringing the first real rain of the season to the Bay Area.
Brian Garcia of the National Weather Service office serving the Bay Area said, “This is the first real rain of the season for the Bay Area, and any rain is going to cause slippery roads.” He also warned that strong winds could snap branches off trees that dried out after high temperatures during the summer and early fall.
North Coast rain and Bay Area timing
The heaviest rain over the next week is likely to fall in the North Coast, where up to six inches could accumulate. The San Francisco Bay Area could record up to two inches, while Los Angeles is likely to get less than an inch. The rain will spread south through Friday and probably reach the Los Angeles area by evening.
Brian Garcia said people should log into their computers and watch webcams of the beach, adding, “They should not be going down anywhere near the saltwater at all.” Chad Hecht of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the University of California, San Diego said, “Once the storm gets down to Los Angeles, it’s on the weaker end.”
California waves this weekend
The storms are expected to churn up the Pacific Ocean and send big, powerful waves ashore this weekend. Experts warned of dangerous conditions at beaches across California, particularly in Northern California, with waves of eight to 12 feet in Los Angeles and San Diego, 25 feet at some Central California beaches, more than 40 feet at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, and 60 feet or higher at Mavericks.
The storms are also expected to replenish reservoirs and rivers and to soak the landscape enough to reduce the threat of wildfires. Even so, the flooding risk is predicted to be low, leaving the main concern for many readers squarely on commute delays Friday and unsafe beach conditions through the weekend.
El Niño and California
El Niño continues to strengthen as the storms arrive, adding another layer to a wet pattern that can reshape winter weather across California. The immediate question for people in California is not whether rain is coming, but how hard it will hit at their location — and whether they stay off the beach when the surf peaks.
