You likely saw or felt it this morning, a web of drizzle that slickened your commute (in my case, my back stairs) and dampened your shoulders. But that was just a taste of the rains to come, forecasters say, promising showers that won't end until sunset falls on the weekend.

According to the Associated Press, the Bay Area should brace for "a strong, wind-packed spring storm" later today, with even heavier rain Friday and still more showers Saturday.

KRON 4 reports that a wind advisory will go into effect for the entire Bay Area from 8:00 p.m. Thursday through 5:00 a.m. Friday, with gusts as high as 60 miles per hour.

"The winds will likely topple trees and down power lines before the storm moves on Friday," CBS 5 reports. The rain is also expected to "snarl this evening's commute, and possibly again Friday morning," ABC 7 reports.

"Heavy seas" are also in the forecast, with 17-foot waves and 45 mph winds expected off the coast. The US Coast Guard is advising seagoers "to boat with caution or avoid the water altogether."

San Francisco and Oakland can expect 1 to 1.5 inches of rain, but the real action will be in the upper elevations of the Sierra Nevada, where the storm is expected to drop 1 to 4 feet of snow, "the biggest storm the Sierra has seen in April in a decade."

"The rain should stop at the end of the weekend," the Chron reports, but the respite will brief. According to the the National Weather Service, Bay Area residents should forecasters expect a similar cycle next week, with a dry M-F and a wet Saturday and Sunday.