Key points of late week-weekend storm:
- Extremely heavy snow with BLIZZARD CONDITIONS expected in the Sierra, heaviest through Saturday. Storm total snowfall into early Sunday is currently projected at 5 to 10+ feet for elevations above 5,000 feet, locally higher amounts of 12+ feet are possible at peaks, with significant disruptions to daily life likely.
- Mountain travel will be extremely dangerous to impossible, especially through Saturday.
- Significant snow accumulations are expected above 3000 feet. Cold air will drop snow levels down to 1000-2000 over the weekend, with light accumulations possible at those levels.
- Wind gusts to 60 to 80 mph are expected over the mountains. Expect snow rates of 2-4+” per hour. These will combine to bring whiteout conditions with near zero visibility at times through Saturday.
- Strong winds will spread further south in the Central Valley this afternoon and tonight with gusts of 45 to 55 mph possible.
Today: Isolated to scattered showers continue this morning into the early afternoon for the Valley and foothills, with light to moderate snow persisting over the Sierra at the moment. The next push of significant moisture is expected to arrive this afternoon. This will result in more widespread showers and possibly a few isolated thunderstorms in the Valley and foothills this afternoon into the evening, with snowfall becoming heavy this afternoon and ramping up to extremely heavy (snowfall rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour) this evening into Saturday. Snow levels of 3000-4000 feet throughout the day, lowering to 1500-2500 feet overnight into Saturday morning.
Saturday: Similar cadence to today, with a brief mid-morning lull and attendant afternoon push of moisture. Isolated Valley/foothills showers in the morning become more widespread with some isolated thunderstorm potential in the afternoon. Heavy to extremely heavy snow continues through early Saturday morning, with a brief down turn to light to moderate snow by mid morning. Heavy to potentially extremely heavy snow (snowfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour) then returns Saturday afternoon into early Sunday as the next push of moisture transitions eastward. Snow levels 1500-2500 feet along the Sierra and 1000-2000 feet in the northern Sacramento Valley.
Sunday: Isolated showers remain possible in the Valley, but impacts remain primarily confined to the foothills and mountains. Initially heavy snow through early Sunday morning, tapers off to more moderate to occasionally heavy snow throughout the day on Sunday. Snow levels 1000-2000 feet along the Sierra and 900-1500 feet over the northern Sacramento Valley in the morning, rising to 1500-2500 feet throughout the day.
Monday-Wednesday: Only a brief lull is expected early on Monday before the next system brings another round of accumulating snow to the region from roughly midday Monday into Wednesday. This system is expected to be weaker comparatively, with periods of moderate to occasionally heavy snow at times. However, given the limited period of recovery between systems, overall impacts may be compounded. Forecast snow levels at this time look to remain around 3000-4000 feet, with some accumulations into the Upper foothills possible. Otherwise, overall light precipitation is expected for the Valley, with potentially gusty winds being the primary impact at lower elevations.