LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A series of moist Pacific storm systems will bring rain and snow to Northern California through the entire weekend.
Light rain began Wednesday and became heavier Thursday as the first and coldest storm moved into the area.
The rain tapered off to showers Thursday afternoon but it will start up again on Friday.
Computer models forecast the heaviest precipitation Friday evening and Saturday evening.
However rain will fall consistently from Friday to Monday morning if the models are correct.
Expect 3 to 6 inches of total precipitation across Lake County by the time the storms end Monday morning.
Snow levels were as low as 2,000 feet in the Shasta mountains, Coastal range and in the Sierra Nevada Thursday morning.
Snow was indicated by Doppler radar Thursday morning over the mountains of northeastern Lake County with a snow level of about 2,000 feet.
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect Friday afternoon to Saturday evening for northern Lake County that covers the Mendocino National Forest/Snow Mountain Wilderness areas above 4,000 feet.
The storms have enough moisture to produce three to six inches of snow with the heaviest snow expected Friday night.
The weekend storms will be relatively warm compared to Thursday’s cold air and the snow level will rise to 5,000 feet on Friday and 6,000 feet through Saturday evening.
Winds will blow from the south 10 to 20 miles per hour through the weekend with gusts up to 30 miles per hour possible.
Here are some 24-hour precipitation totals from automated reporting stations as of 10 a.m. Thursday:
- 0.96” – Whispering Pines near Middletown (2,700 feet);
- 0.73” – Konocti (2,163 feet);
- 0.60” – Lakeport (1,390 feet);
- 0.54” – Cache Creek (1,463 feet);
- 0.49” – Indian Valley Reservoir (1,502 feet);
- 0.25” – Bartlett Springs near Lucerne (2,060 feet).
Weekend temperature forecast around Clear Lake:
- Friday lows: 32-42, highs: 44-54;
- Saturday lows: 37-45, highs: 49-56;
- Sunday lows: 41-49, highs: 52-59.
Lakeport low / high / weather
Friday 33/51 / Rain
Saturday 38/54 / Rain
Sunday 41/56 / Rain
Monday 39/61 / Partly Cloudy
Tuesday 36/60 / Partly Cloudy
Wednesday 36/59 / 20% Chance
Next week temperatures look slightly warmer than the seasonal averages with lows in the middle 30s to upper 40s and highs in the middle 50s to middle 60s.
Monday afternoon and Tuesday look dry.
Expect wet weather again Wednesday morning and Thursday with Wednesday’s storm being be the wetter of the two.
Scott Mace is a meteorologist and contributor to Lake County News.