California’s Rainy Season Kicks Off With a Series of Storms This Week

Although the worst of the stormy conditions have been locked up over the Pacific Northwest in recent days, that is about to change as the storm splits and sends the impacts spilling into California and the interior West. Here is a closer look at what you should expect as this movement happens.

California Will Get in on Next West Coast Storm

The active storm track that has been pushing into the western U.S. from the northern Pacific will split in two by the end of the week, paving the way for drenching rainfall and mountain snow to reach California and areas farther east. The moisture will come in waves, popping up every one to three days through the next week.

The storm train will first track into British Columbia, Canada, and the northwestern corner of the U.S. for the next few weeks. A secondary pocket of storms will hit California and Nevada in the days ahead.

The first storm to reach as far as Southern California will ignite late Friday into Saturday. This brief round of rain could impact Los Angeles and San Diego before moving into the desert terrain of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona to start the weekend. The fast-moving nature of this storm will limit overall impacts; however, roads could become slick after weeks of dry conditions. 

Parts of Northern California have been particularly dry lately. San Jose has only measured 0.27 of an inch of rain since the beginning of September. For context, this equates to just 22% of the historical average for this time of the year. 

San Jose is forecast to see about a half an inch of rain on Friday. It will be a cool and blustery day with highs that struggle to climb out of the low 60s and winds out of the west at 15 to 25 mph.

Snow for the Higher Elevations in the Forecast

The first major Pacific storm of November will also bring significant snow to the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada. Flakes are expected to fly at elevations as low as 5,000 feet across this mountain range. The latest forecast models predict that 1 to 2 feet of snow will fall across the terrain above 7,000 feet.

Nobody will be more excited to see this snow than the area ski resorts. Any bit of accumulation will be welcome ahead of the busy Thanksgiving holiday, often seen as the unofficial kickoff to the ski and snowboard season.

Motorists will want to be aware of the likelihood of travel disruptions over some of the major mountain passes. For instance, Donner Pass along Interstate 80 in California is forecast to pick up 6 to 10 inches of snow out of this system. The snow machine will fire up on Friday afternoon. Donner Pass is located at an elevation of about 7,200 feet.

The second storm in this train is predicted to make its way to Northern California by Sunday. San Jose will once again be the target of meaningful moisture, with about a quarter of an inch of rain expected.

This system will continue to track to the south, reaching Los Angeles on Monday. From there, you can expect the storm to shift to the east and into Las Vegas and Phoenix by Tuesday. Another round of measurable snow is on tap for the Sierra Nevada beginning late Monday and lasting through the overnight hours.

While it is still too early to predict with precision, a third storm is forecast to move north to south across California next Wednesday and into Friday. Once again, the storm will bring snow for the mountainous terrain and rain for the lower elevations.

In addition to giving the ski resorts a boost, the persistent surge of moisture over the week will also work to chip away at the ongoing drought across much of the western U.S. Local officials are hopeful that lake and reservoir water levels will inch up in the months ahead as the wet season becomes more entrenched.

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