First Alert Weather: Storm System To Deliver Showers, Possible Hail Before Freeze Warning
SAN FRANCISCO (KPPIX) -- The KPIX 5 Weather Team has declared Tuesday a "First Alert Weather Day," with several different threats potentially impacting the Bay Area.
A storm system in the Pacific Northwest will bring off-and-on rain showers into the Bay Area Monday night, continuing throughout the day on Tuesday. While the rain is welcome after over six weeks of dry weather, some of the showers could produce cloud-to-ground lightning and small hail.
"There's going to be a lot of cold air in the upper levels of the atmosphere. That increases how unstable the atmosphere is, which increases the threat of cloud-to-ground lightning," explained First Alert Chief Meteorologist Paul Heggen. "The unstable environment, coupled with the cold air, will also allow some small hail to fall out of any showers that manage to become thunderstorms."
Rainfall amounts will be light overall, with only a few hundredths of an inch of rain for most areas and just a 50% chance of measurable rain for any one spot in the Bay Area.
Once the rain showers wind down Tuesday evening, cold temperatures will take over for the rest of the week. Most of the North Bay is under a Freeze Watch for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings. That's likely to be upgraded to Freeze Warning, as temperatures will drop to the mid to upper 20s in the early mornings.
Other inland parts of the Bay Area will drop to near freezing, which will prompt a Frost Advisory. Bay Area residents are advised to take care to protect sensitive vegetation and outdoor plumbing, and make sure outdoor pets have a warm place to shelter.
"Plants if they're very sensitive to cold temperatures, you might want to cover them up if you can. Or if they're mobile enough, maybe even bring them inside," said National Weather Service Meteorologist David King.
Shelter during the projected cold temperatures is also a challenge faced by the unhoused in San Francisco. Steve Patterson and his friend are living on the streets, camped out on Geary Street.
It's warm during the day, but they have to be ready for the sudden drop in temperature overnight.
"It's been chilly, but you can get through anything," said Patterson.
Frigid conditions add to the hardship with a flimsy tent providing just one layer of protection.
"I have a tent I put inside another tent. It's insulated. It will keep me dry and warm," said Patterson.
Housing advocates say finding overnight shelter isn't as easy as some think, especially with COVID distancing requirements still in place.
"If someone is looking for shelter, especially with bad weather, it can be really tough to find out where it is," said Kelley Cutler with the Coalition on Homelessness. "Right now, I don't know where it [open space] is, and I follow it really closely."
Patterson told KPIX he has been on the streets for seven years. The cold weather isn't his biggest problem. It's just one of many.
"We have to make the best of what we can do. That's all we can do. That's part of life," said Patterson.
One of the city affiliated programs called "Interfaith Winter Shelter" will be open as it is every night during the winter months. But some sites have as few as 20 cots available each night.
The system is also dumping fresh snow in the Sierra with a winter storm warning currently in effect.
Drivers traveling in and out of Tahoe could see some dangerous conditions. Earlier Monday, chain controls were in effect.
Kenny Choi contributed to this story.