Early morning storm front brings hail, thunder showers; Rain forecast through Wednesday
SAN FRANCISCO -- The thunder showers and hail that pelted the Bay Area early Sunday morning gave way to more scattered precipitation after the sun came up, but the rain will continue for the next several days.
National Weather Service forecast for Sunday for the greater San Francisco Bay Area calls for a chance of showers and thunderstorms, with highs in the 50s.
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The heaviest of Sunday's rain arrived early when the organized front came through just before 1 a.m. until around 4 a.m. that brought downpours, hail and lightning. There will be some organized storm cells moving through the Bay Area in the afternoon and evening Sunday, but they will become more numerous and intense on Monday as the center of the storm system passes through the region.
A winter weather advisory is in effect in the East Bay Hills through 4 p.m. Sunday. Elevations above 2,300 feet are forecast to receive 2 to 5 inches of snow. Sunday night calls for more scattered showers with lows in the upper 30s and 40s.
While the showers were more sporadic, there were some storm cells that dumped additional hail on parts of the North Bay and South Bay into the afternoon, with the National Weather Service's Bay Area office issuing multiple special weather advisories for increased winds and hail.
The rain will continue into Tuesday and Wednesday morning, finally coming to an end by Thursday. The collective amount of rain forecast through midweek will not be enough to raise any flooding concerns, but there will be some downpours, particularly Monday afternoon and evening.
The winds were much more intense during the early morning hours Sunday, weakening over the course of the day until Monday evening when wind speeds will drop to single digits.
With cooler temperatures Monday evening, there will be isolated showers that could bring more snow at higher elevations. Temperatures will remain cold, with snow levels as low as 2,500 feet where there could be accumulations with a couple of inches of snow. Below that elevation, it won't accumulate much.
Another 3-4 feet of snow is coming in the Sierra with the snowfall only getting heavier over the next 36 hours. Morning lows will drop down to the low 30s with daytime highs in the low to mid 50s.
