Weekend storm system drenches Fresno

A storm system is blowing through the central San Joaquin Valley, keeping Fresno wet.

The system arrived on Friday, bringing nearly a quarter-inch of rain.

“There was a little more rain than we were expecting,” said Cindy Bean, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford.

On Saturday, there was some light rain early in the day, but from 4 p.m. all the way until 4 a.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service expects an inch of rain to dampen Fresno.

During the bulk of Sunday, there’s expected to be light rain. But Sunday night into Monday, the forecast is for a quarter- to half-inch of rain, Bean said.

There’s heavy rain up in the foothills, and this system is expected to bring between 3 and 5 feet of snow to areas above 8,000 feet, Bean said. Areas between 6,000 and 8,000 feet will see around 1 to 3 feet of snow, and areas around 4,000 feet could get up to a foot.

Snow levels could even “briefly” fall as low as 3,500 feet by Monday morning, Bean said.

After the storm system finishes, Fresno will have a break from rain until next weekend.

A new system will hit Fresno on Friday, Bean said, and it could go as far south as Kern County.

“That system doesn’t look as wet as this system, but it will still bring rain,” Bean said.

This story was originally published March 5, 2016 at 7:33 PM with the headline "Weekend storm system drenches Fresno."