MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES–The National Weather Service Hanford Office is predicting a cold storm system will impact the Sierra Nevada Thursday through Friday evening, resulting in periods of snow. The majority of this snow will fall Thursday evening and Thursday night. The snow level will start at around 6,000 feet Thursday, before falling to about 2,000 feet Friday morning.
A very strong cold trough will slide in tomorrow (Thursday) morning and afternoon. High temperatures tomorrow will be around 20 degrees cooler than today’s highs. This trough also brings rain to the San Joaquin Valley and snow levels down to about 3,000 feet by early Friday morning. There is also a chance of thunderstorms on both days.
A few strong thunderstorms are possible in Central California both Thursday afternoon into Thursday evening and Friday afternoon into Friday evening. Wind gusts near 45 miles per hour and small hail are a couple of hazards associated with strong thunderstorms. In addition to dangerous cloud to ground lightning strikes, any thunderstorm can produce intense rainfall rates, leading to localized flooding.
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 5 PM Thursday to 11 PM Friday. Snow is expected above 3,000 feet. Total snow accumulations
of up to 6 inches. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph. Travel will be very difficult. Strong winds could cause tree damage.
