Winter is making a rare 2012 appearance this week here in the Bay Area.
We began to feel the cooler temperatures rolling in Monday morning with rain arriving late tonight, according to our NBC Bay Area weather department.
Bay Area rain totals are shaping up to be .25" to .50" for most inland valleys. Computer models show rain totals of .75" to 2" in our coastal mountains of the North Bay and Santa Cruz. A few lingering showers may lurk around the South and East Bay hills until early Wednesday morning.
Forecasters say the main energy from the storm is expected to split once it hits land. Part of it will dive south and thus miss continuing on to the Sierra. They will get some snow in Tahoe, but levels will be high and amounts will be low.
After Wednesday morning, the rest of the work week will finish off dry.
There is another system that has a tiny chance of getting here late Saturday night, but for now- the forecast for San Francisco's Chinese New Year parade is dry, according to NBC Bay Area's Christina Loren.
So grab that umbrella Tuesday and enjoy a taste of winter.
