Hello everyone!

Today will feature a temporary return to spring with temps rising into the 40’s under sunny skies. As a result, much of the 1-2″ of snow that fell last night will melt today. Winds again will be light out of the NW.

Looking ahead to our storm, models shifted even farther north last night resulting in a warmer solution. This means that the foothills will likely see a period of freezing rain and sleet with ice accumulations of up to 1/4″. Coastal areas will see a period of plain rain.

However, the 6z GFS, something that I usually don’t pay attention to, has moved the storm farther to the south which would result in a cooler solution like the Euro has had all along. This will be something to watch around noon today when the 12z models become available.

With regards to snowfall, ski country will love this storm with the ski areas getting up to 2 feet. Areas along the coast will see anywhere from 1-3″ on the tips of the Peninsulas and the islands, to up to 4 or 5″ in the interior parts of the bays.

Snow map

With regards to timing, expect precip to arrive midday Wednesday in the form of snow. Warm air invades Wednesday evening turning precip to sleet, then freezing rain and then rain for coastal areas.

Ice accumulations will reach 1/4″ across the foothills where freezing rain will prevail the longest. This, combined with the heavy wet snow falling across these areas and the strong winds coming from the deepening low, could cause power outages.

Everything changes back to snow Thursday morning accumulating several inches along the coast. During this time, any water left over from rain/snowmelt will freeze so watch for slippery surfaces.

Cool temps briefly after the storm on Friday followed by a warm up over the weekend and then another cool down early next week.

-Jack