Spring arrives in the Valley Monday, and so will another winter storm

Spring arrives this week, but so will wet weather, which is expected to dominate the central San Joaquin Valley through next weekend after a few days of sunny, blue skies.

Jim Andersen, National Weather Service meteorologist in Hanford, said the temperatures are not expected to drop significantly but there will be cooler weather as the wet system moves south from Northern California.

“This system is going to be mixing the air pretty good,” Andersen said.

The storm system responsible for the week’s forecast was north of Fresno Sunday, Andersen said. The low pressure system will creep southward toward the central San Joaquin Valley starting Monday.

Monday night and Tuesday morning’s rain could drop about two-tenths to half an inch of rain on the Valley. The foothills and higher elevations could see half an inch to three-quarters of an inch of rain – even higher elevations could see an inch of rain by Tuesday night.

Andersen said there is a 60 percent chance of rain for Monday night. The chances for heavier rain grow Tuesday morning to 70 percent, he said.

Wednesday will still see rain throughout the day with possibly breezy conditions, but little to no rain is forecast for Thursday. By Friday, the chances of rain grow again to 60 to 70 percent into Saturday.

The Valley could see a break from wet weather on Thursday. Snow elevations for Sunday were at about 8,500 feet, but are expected to drop to about 5,000 feet by Wednesday.

With spring arriving Monday, Andersen calls the week’s storm a “typical winter pattern.”

Temperatures for the week are forecast to stick around in the low to mid 70s, Anderson said. Fog will not be an issue for the week.

This story was originally published March 19, 2017 at 1:29 PM with the headline "Spring arrives in the Valley Monday, and so will another winter storm."