Last in long line of storms set to drop final Bay Area rain for a while
The main band for the final storm that’s slated to hit the Bay Area for the foreseeable future was expected to spread through the region sometime late Tuesday morning or early afternoon. When it does, it is likely to drop light but steady rain until early Wednesday.
At that point, the Bay Area can expect its longest stretch of dry weather since January.
RELATED: Before-and-after: See how huge snow storms transformed the Sierra Nevada in just a few days
“We’re gonna get a build-up of high pressure, and it’s gonna warm up,” NWS meteorologist Brayden Murdock said. “As for the rain, we don’t know when we’re going to see some more.”
The change in pattern comes after a steady stream of rain has saturated the Bay Area over the past 10 days. The wet weather has left some areas — particularly those in the North Bay — prone to minor flooding in low-lying areas and places with poor drainage.
The North Bay is likely to get a bulk of the precipitation. The storm, like the others that preceded it, is progressing down from near the Gulf of Alaska. Still, it’s a bit different that the others in that it is gathering some moisture from a system in the southern Pacific ocean, though Murdock said not as much as initially anticipated.
Rain began to fall lightly overnight in the North Bay near Cloverdale and Santa Rosa and is expected to increase in intensity in that area as it begins to spread through the region. According to the weather service, about a half-inch to three-quarters of an inch of rain are likely in the East Bay, Peninsula, North Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains. In San Jose and the rest of Santa Clara County, about a quarter-inch of rain is expected.
“Probably (Tuesday) evening is when it’s going to be the most widespread,” Murdock said. “Then, we’re going to have lingering isolated light showers before it finally clears out Wednesday morning.”
The increase in high pressure and the return to warm temperatures is likely to put the thermometer in the 70s by Friday in San Jose and other areas of the South Bay, as well as in Concord and the far inland parts of the East Bay. By Monday, much of the cloud cover is expected to be gone, and the sun is expected to radiate through clear blue sky at least through early next week.