Scattered showers are anticipated to repeatedly grace the Bay Space on Sunday as a part of an expansive winter storm system bringing rain and snow to a lot of Northern California, together with one other wholesome dumping of powder over the Sierra Nevada.
The showers on Sunday are anticipated to proceed for the subsequent a number of days as a slow-moving storm system churns over southern Oregon and strikes towards Nevada, whereas intermittently spinning off storm fronts throughout Northern California and the Bay Space, mentioned David King, a Nationwide Climate Service meteorologist.
“It's going to transfer very slowly all through the course of the week, and that’s what’s going to maintain us on this prevailing scattered bathe exercise,” King mentioned.
Probably the most potent of these storm fronts pummeled the Bay Space in the course of the pre-dawn hours of Sunday morning, dropping heavy rain and hail whereas additionally producing lots of of lightning strikes over components of the area.
🌩Did you see or hear it? Lightning and thunder in a single day. This is a abstract over the past 12 hours. #cawxpic.twitter.com/AKNomMAZrt
— NWS Bay Space 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) March 5, 2023
One-third to a half-inch of rain fell over a lot of the Bay Space early Sunday, whereas pea-sized hail was reported throughout parts of the Peninsula and the North Bay, together with San Francisco and Mill Valley, King mentioned. The climate service additionally recorded 292 lightning strikes in the course of the 12-hour interval that ended at 5 a.m. Sunday — most of them concentrated over San Francisco, the Marin Headlands. Lots of them struck simply off-shore over the Pacific Ocean.
One other spherical of snow flurries additionally had been reported within the East Bay Hills. A light-weight dusting of snow fell at an elevation of about 1,750 toes, King mentioned. One other 1-2 inches of snow might fall on Bay Space peaks above 2,200 toes in elevation, he added.
To the east, not less than a foot and a half of snow fell over the northern portion of the Sierra Nevada space late Saturday and early Sunday morning, mentioned Johnnie Powell, a Nationwide Climate Service meteorologist. Bear Valley recorded about 16 inches of recent snow in a single day, whereas 17 inches of snow fell to the north in Quincy.
The snow continued to snarl site visitors within the excessive nation. Interstate 80 remained closed Sunday morning from Applegate to the California-Nevada state line.
I-80 stays closed from Applegate to CA/NV Stateline. Snow's nonetheless falling. Route nonetheless caked with ice. Snowplows working double time, however as you'll be able to see moments in the past one was barely made a dent within the snow-covered roadway in Kingvale. https://t.co/oOJkXOQ4Qq has newest highway data. pic.twitter.com/PNHDhxD5ZY
— Caltrans District 3 (@CaltransDist3) March 5, 2023
It provides to a bountiful snowpack that's almost twice the state’s common for this time of 12 months. As of Friday, the state’s snowpack sat at 190% of its common for this time of the 12 months. Regardless that the northern Sierra has obtained barely much less snow this season, it nonetheless sat at 151% of its common for March 3, in response to the California Division of Water Assets.
Not less than one other foot of snow might fall over parts of the Sierra Nevada above 5,000 toes on Sunday, Powell mentioned. Areas between 3,000 and 5,000 toes in elevation might obtain one other 6 inches of snow.
“That is copious quantities of snow,” mentioned Johnnie Powell, a Nationwide Climate Service meteorologist.