San Francisco

Relief on the Way: Rain to Help Clear Smoke From Bay Area

Widespread rain is expected to douse the Bay Area late Tuesday night and throughout the day Wednesday

Relief is on the way for the smoke-clogged Bay Area.

Two storm systems making their way to the area this week, starting Wednesday, are slated to bring widespread rainfall to a region that's been choked by wildfire smoke for nearly two weeks and hasn't witnessed a "significant" storm since early October, according to the National Weather Service.

The wet weather is expected to make its presence known in the Bay Area throughout the day Wednesday, according to weather officials. More rain is expected to fall late Thursday evening and through Friday.

Some cities could receive an inch of rainfall on Wednesday alone, the National Weather Service reported. San Francisco hasn't seen an inch of rain or more fall in one day since April 7. San Jose hasn't been drenched with an inch or more of rain since Jan. 8.

By the time the second storm system rolls through by the end of the week, some locations in the North Bay, East Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains could accumulate more than two inches of rainfall, according to the weather service.

To the east in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, snow could fall on elevations soaring above the 6,000 foot mark.

Bay Area residents still had to contend with smoky skies Tuesday and into Wednesday, and a Spare the Air alert was extended through Wednesday. Air quality in much of the Bay Area has been rated as "unhealthy" or "unhealthy for sensitive groups," according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

The smoke has been drifting down from the massive Camp Fire burning in Northern California's Butte County.

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