After a mix of sunshine and thunderstorms popped up across Northern California on Thursday, another storm system is anticipated to hit the region overnight into Friday, bringing snow to unusually low elevations.
High clouds associated with the system were quickly approaching the coast Thursday afternoon. The clouds are expected to thicken after sundown, likely ruining the chance for Northern Californians to view Thursday night’s lunar eclipse .
The system’s warm front will reach the coast shortly after midnight. Rain will begin to fall nearly simultaneously from Eureka to San Francisco to Monterey because the precipitation shield is aligning itself from northwest to southeast. Showers will continue through midmorning Friday.
While temperatures are expected to slowly climb as the warm front passes, the system will be encountering a chilly air mass already in place. The rain-snow line may be as low as 2,500 feet in the Bay Area at midnight, rising to 5,000 feet or higher by 10 a.m. Before precipitation switches to rain, higher peaks such as Mount Diablo, Mount Hamilton, Mount Umunhum and Mount Saint Helena may accumulate up to 4 inches of snow.
North of the Bay Area, snow will fall to even lower elevations. Lake County is under a winter weather advisory for 1 to 4 inches of snow above 1,500 feet.
Precipitation will fall as a chilly rain at the coast and in the valleys. San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and other parts of the Bay Area can expect a quarter- to half-inch of rain. The rain will be accompanied by south-southeasterly winds gusting up to 35 mph. Steady rain overnight will transition to scattered showers after sunrise Friday…