Soggy Weekend Leaves Blanket Of Snow On Bay Area Peaks
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A winter storm front that rolled through the San Francisco Bay over the weekend dumped several inches of much needed rain and left a blanket of snow on the higher elevations from Wine Country to the South Bay.
Over the last 48 hours, the National Weather Service said 3.28 inches of rain had fallen in Watsonville, 2.34 inches in Ben Lomond in the Santa Cruz Mountains, just over an inch in Livermore, an inch in the Oakland Hills and 0.85 of an inch in San Francisco.
What a difference from February when a high pressure system stalled off the Northern California coast diverting rainstorms to the north and south. For the first time since 1864, San Francisco and the surrounding area did not see any measurable rainfall.
The stormy weather also left snow blanketing Mt. Hamilton in the South Bay and other Bay Area peaks.
"Snow levels are anticipated to drop to around 2500 feet today with snow likely across higher elevation peaks of the East Bay and the
Santa Lucia Mountains," the weather service said. "Below normal temperatures will continue through early this week with temperatures mainly in the upper 40s to mid 50s and lows mainly in the upper 30s and 40s. A slight warming trend expected late this week into the weekend. "
The view from space showed the storm's flow along the coast.
The Sierra got the brunt of the storm with snow still falling early Monday and accumulations of as much as 4 feet at the higher elevations. Normally such a strong front would bring thousands of skiers to the slopes but several of the largest resorts in the Lake Tahoe area have been closed for at least a week as the result of the coronavirus outbreak.
A winter storm warning remained in effect for the Lake Tahoe area until Tuesday morning.
"Additional snow accumulations through Tuesday of 4 to 10 inches, except 12 to 18 inches above 7000 feet," national weather forcasters in Reno warned. "Winds gusting as high as 50 mph."
