Latest rainfall forecast for late Thursday through Saturday morning. #cawx pic.twitter.com/zR54KPaPa6
— NWSBayArea (@NWSBayArea) January 20, 2016
Enjoy today's clear conditions while you can, Bay Area, because El Niño's gearing up to dump a whole lot more rain on you, starting tonight.
NOT that we are complaining! While pictures of a recently-risen Lake Oroville are certainly comforting, as Jay noted yesterday, "we still have a long way to go" before the drought reaches a conclusion.
So, keep reminding yourself that every little bit helps, when the first of this weekend's storm systems hits San Francisco at around 10 p.m. tonight.
According to the all-caps fans at the National Weather service, "RAIN WILL SWITCH OVER TO
SHOWERS BY LATE IN THE MORNING OR EARLY IN THE AFTERNOON ON FRIDAY." And there's more on Friday night. Per the NWS:
A SECOND PIECE OF ENERGY WILL QUICKLY MOVE TO OUR REGION WITH ANOTHER ROUND OF RAIN FORECAST FOR FRIDAY EVENING INTO SATURDAY.THIS SECOND FEATURE WILL BE MORE UNSTABLE AND HAVE A GREATER POTENTIAL FOR PRODUCING MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN AT TIMES. OF BIGGEST CONCERN IS FOR LATE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY MORNING WHEN A FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH WHICH WILL LIKELY LEAD TO THE HIGHEST RAINFALL RATES. RAIN WILL SWITCH OVER TO SHOWERS LATER ON SATURDAY WITH A FEW THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE.
OK, grandpa, jeez.
According to the Ex, there might be some flooding, too.
"King tides of 6.6 feet are also anticipated Friday and Saturday morning, potentially causing slight flooding along the Embarcadero, though likely not enough to trigger any road closures," they write.
KRON warns that the storms will also bring strong winds up to 30 miles per hour. So watch out for debris and downed trees, and stock up on flashlight batteries, as these are exactly the kind of conditions that lead to power outages.
Related: Poster Lake Of The Drought, Lake Oroville, Gains 17 Feet Of Water In 10 Days