The Bay Area is bracing for still more bad weather as thunderstorms and snow in high elevations began Thursday as part of a cold front moving through the region.
Rain and snow showers in the mountains should taper off by Friday, according to the National Weather Service, but chilly temperatures will persist into Sunday morning.
Snow flurries may occur Thursday in the higher elevations of the North, East and South Bays, as well as Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. All Bay Area regions could experience minor showers and thunderstorms, which have the capacity to create gusty winds and even hail.
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Snow could reach up to 3 inches in the high-elevation areas of the North Bay, weather service officials said, especially Thursday evening through Friday morning. In the East and South Bay, between 3 and 6 inches of snow may accumulate on Mt. Hamilton and Mt. Umunhum.
Monterey County, which has already taken quite a beating this winter and experienced a road collapse because of it last week on state Highway 1, could be in for up to 12 inches of snow in the Santa Lucia Range, which runs 140 miles southeast starting in Carmel Bay.
After Thursday, the weather ramps up on Friday from "minor" to "moderate" showers, snow and thunderstorms in the North Bay and Santa Cruz County, with the rest of the region experiencing the same conditions as Thursday.
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Showers may cause ponding in roadways and the possibility of rockslides will be present. People in areas with snow should watch out for slick roadways and minor traffic delays.
No rain or snow is forecast for the weekend, but the North Bay and Santa Cruz County could get chilly on Saturday morning and to a lesser degree on Sunday. Temperature ranges will be from the mid to upper 30s, with the coldest areas in the region's highest peaks. The Peninsula could see temperatures in the lower 40s.
Crystal Oudit, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said that though it may seem abnormal to have this much rain and even snow this far into the year, it has been known to happen.
"We've seen this before," Oudit said.
The weather service only makes weather predictions seven days out, she said, so there's no word on when or if rain and snow will finally begin to dissipate into warm, sunny spring weather.
