Soggy parade of weak storms to deliver extra rain to San Francisco Bay Space
Light rain fell over North Bay on Sunday morning, with more rain for the San Francisco Bay Area as two weak storms are expected to sweep the area, the National Weather Service reported.
These storms will not come close to the strength of the recent atmospheric river that soaked Northern California on Oct. 24, but they will keep conditions humid in an arid region plagued by drought and wildfires.
“Historically, we would be at the height of the fire season and it’s nice not to have to deal with it,” said Ryan Walbrun, a forecaster with the Weather Service.
A system in the north cut off the north bay this morning and brought unexpected drizzle that will subside later in the morning. Shortly after 7 a.m., the weather service reported that Mount Tamalpais had also registered 0.39 inches of rain in the past 24 hours. “The sequoias are happy,” said the weather service.
That rain came after Mount Marin County recorded nearly 17 inches of rain in the atmospheric river event last Sunday.
“Generally the trend this year is system over-performance and we are seeing that this morning in North Bay where we continue to get light rain,” said Walbrun.
The next storm system is expected to arrive on Monday morning, move south towards the Central Coast on Monday afternoon and deliver light to moderate rainfall.
The weather service released forecast rainfall totals for the event on Monday: 0.5 to 1 inches in San Rafael, 0.25 to 0.50 inches in San Francisco and Half Moon Bay, and 0.1 to 0.25 inches in Livermore and San Jose .
From Tuesday to Wednesday afternoon it should be mild and dry. Another weak storm, similar in force to Monday, will increase the likelihood of light to moderate rainfall from Wednesday night to Thursday.
“I would describe it as a normal pattern with some chance of rain,” said Walbrun. “We don’t expect a lot of wind because there aren’t any strong systems. We don’t expect temperature fluctuations. They’ll come through quickly and bring some rain in the preseason. That’s good news.”
Drought is expected next weekend.
