The bulk of this past Atmospheric River storm event is over as snow showers tapper off early this morning. We get a small break from stormy weather now until Sunday night/early Monday morning, when the next in a series of Atmospheric Rivers begins to impact our area , this one stronger with heavier snowfall and much stronger winds thru Tuesday.
Saturday: Cloudy skies with lingering snowfall in the morning before 10am, then scattered flurries with up to 2” of new accumulation by day’s end. Winds will continue to be light out of the South, with gusts over 10,000’ up to 40mph, and decreasing through the day. High temperatures are expected in the mid to upper 30s between 8000’ and 9000’, and in the upper 20s above 10,000’.
Sunday: Partly cloudy skies with occasional flurries leading to no new accumulation. Winds look to increase slightly with gusts up to 55mph above 10,000’ and shift slightly out of the SW and W. Temperatures will warm slightly with highs in the upper 20s to low 30s above 10,000’.
Long-term: “For Sunday night through early Tuesday, a powerful Pacific storm fueled by a wide and moderate-strong atmospheric river is on track to slam into the Sierra and eastern CA.” Strong winds are expected Monday morning, with ridgetop gusts exceeding 125mph. This next storm also brings heavier amounts of moisture with liquid amounts in the 3-6” range at higher elevations (several feet + of snow), and also slightly higher snow lines, but likely still under 8,000’. Then yet another AR storm looks likely to roll-in Tuesday evening thru Wednesday night, this one much colder, with another couple of feet of snow possible at upper elevations.