Rain ahead, forecast for Jan 19th

Aside from a steady stream of clouds coming off the ocean, we managed to stay dry other than a few sprinkles very early this morning. The storm door is opening wide with a few pulses of rain expected to hit our region through the weekend and in to early next week. Look for another quiet weather day on Friday with mild 60's expected as clouds further increase from the west. Sprinkles or light rain could occur for northern areas by late in the afternoon with our southern areas seeing chances very late.

Looking ahead, we expect to see showers rolling through the region as we head in to Saturday. The first couple of pulses will likely stay on the light side with rain totals staying between a quarter and one half inch. As we head in to Sunday, look for more widespread showers and possibly heavy rain. The storm system is moving quickly, but ample Pacific moisture and moderate southerly winds could enhance the rainfall rates from late Sunday and in to early Monday. Overall, we expect between 1 to 2' possible for the coastal zones with higher totals for the foothills and mountains. One of the key ingredients will be the relatively warm and moist air mixing with cold air at the upper levels of the atmosphere. That could translate in to thunderstorm development which could mean some severe weather. We will need to be vigilant for heavy downpours, lightning and possible waterspouts or small tornadoes. We will keep a close eye on this latests storm system and continuously update our forecast on our website and on our news channels.