Wintry Weekend With Lowering Snow Levels

A chilly weather system will spill some rain at times our way with highest totals near the coastline and Santa Cruz mountains. Its also bringing in some lowering snow levels overnight into the 2,000 to 3,000 ft. range in the North Bay before daybreak and closer to 3,000 feet around the South Bay. This means our higher peaks stand a good chance for some snow until the moisture moves on later on Saturday afternoon. There’s a chance some inland valleys around the North Bay may briefly experience some sleet mixed with rain at lower elevations as cooler air trapped inland temporarily allows a wintry mix at times. Throughout the day high surf will pound the coastline with some breakers in the 15-20 ft. range, use extreme caution if you are making plans near the shore on Saturday. Wave heights should drop slightly on Sunday.Rain will taper off into Saturday evening with a frosty night likely into Sunday morning under clearing skies and decreasing wind. The rest of the weekend should remain dry though daytime temps will be quite cool with highs mainly in the upper 40s to mid 50s. – Rob Mayeda