The rain from the last in a series of three storms that first started last week blew in Thursday morning considerably colder than the previous two, according to the National Weather Service. It will be well out of the Bay Area by Friday.
The cold will not be.
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“Through the weekend, it’s going to get very cold,” NWS meteorologist Roger Gass said. “Those cold temps are going to last until about midway into next week. Then the next storm door is going to open again.”
The current storm door has been a wide one. Rain that had gathered moisture among warmer temperatures and taken on the characteristics of an atmospheric river delivered two warm storms that brought flooding to the North Bay, and high rainfall totals elsewhere.
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The third storm came from the tail end of the pattern with far less moisture gathered and significantly colder air. That colder air will keep the high temperatures in the region below the mid-50s into next week, and the overnight lows could dip below 32 degrees in some inland areas, Gass said.
The wind and rain that accompanied the chill Thursday were set to bid farewell for a bit, with the winds making their last performance in this pattern a powerful one. Gusts were expected to blow up to 50 mph in coastal areas of the region, while steady winds about 15-25 mph will blow regularly.
The weather service issued a wind advisory that will start at 10 a.m. Thursday and last until 4 a.m. Friday.
As for the rain, it will fall consistently but not necessarily very hard, Gass said. It was expected leave about a half-inch to an inch of rain in most areas of the region, including the East Bay, South Bay and North Bay. Along the central coast, about a quarter-inch to a half-inch is expected.
In higher elevations around the region, about 2-3 inches of rain may fall, Gass said.
Those rains could cause additional flooding concerns because of how saturated the soil already has become. The weather service in its forecast said its biggest concern is that creeks and streams could flood and that trees could topple.
Gass said there also is a slight chance for thunder and lightning with some of the storm cells that move through. The instability of the warm air and cold air generated multiple lightning strikes in Santa Cruz County on Tuesday.
Come Friday, the sun will make another appearance and clouds will gradually disappear from view, leaving the cold temperatures to have the weather map all to themselves.
