Rain, wind and storms to ‘linger for several days’ across California, latest forecasts say

A widespread storm is headed for California with heavy rain predicted starting on Monday and continuing through at least Thursday, according to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.

Rain, wind and snow are expected to hit the state as a result of a “deep low-pressure system,” Daniel Swain wrote in a recent Weather West blog post.

Swain, a UCLA climate scientist and science communicator, focuses on weather events including floods, droughts and wildfires, according to his bio on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“This will be a rather slow-moving and broad low-pressure system that will linger for several days, and will likely send 2-3 days (of) distinct spokes of active weather across California during this period,” Swain wrote in the blog post.

The storm will escalate toward the middle and end of the week.

“A large portion” of California will experience about 20% to 40% chance of heavy precipitation, NWS Sacramento announced on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Which California regions will experience rain?

The Central Coast and Southern California can expect about 1 to 3 inches of rain starting late Monday or Tuesday along with temperatures in the low 60s all next week, according to the National Weather Service.

California’s Central Valley has a probability of heavy rain from Tuesday until Thursday and temperatures ranging in the low 60s, according to The Weather Channel.

The coastal areas have a probability of about 1 to 3 inches of rain from Tuesday to Thursday.

Northern California, including Sacramento, is predicted to get about 2 or more inches of rain with daytime highs in the low 60s and nighttime temperatures in the 40s.

The Northern Coast, Klamath and Sierra Nevada mountains have a 40% to 60% chance of heavy precipitation and possible snow at higher elevations, the Weather Prediction Center announced in an X post.

“Confidence levels on rain during this period remain very high,” the Weather Service said in a forecast discussion on Friday. “What’s less certain now is the amount of rain.”

But even if the storm follows the models predicting the lightest amounts of rainfall, “this would still be a very impressive storm for November,” the Weather Service said.

“To put it into perspective, it’s likely most areas will still easily surpass the average November rain totals in 24 hours or less,” the agency wrote. “But if earlier models end up proving more accurate, most areas will have 3-5 times the average monthly rain totals.”

Is this rain a result of El Niño?

The Weather West blog post stated that this rain is a result of ongoing El Niño weather conditions.

El Niño is a climate pattern that occurs when sea surface temperatures change from their norm near the Pacific Ocean’s equator, The Sacramento Bee previously reported.

This can affect rain and wind patterns across California.

This likely isn’t the worst California will see this rainy season.

“The present event will peak sometime between December and February,” Swain’s blog states.

What do you want to know about life in Sacramento? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email servicejournalists@sacbee.com.