Northern and central California residents are getting rain in the winter storm of the season.
While the system will lose much of its steam before it arrives in Southern California later this evening, spotty showers are likely.
On Monday evening, a storm front will push through San Diego and bring winds along with a chance of scattered, light showers.
In the coast and valleys, a tenth to .20 of rain may arrive. In the mountains, isolated areas may see a half-inch of rain. There's another chance of rain between Tuesday afternoon and early Wednesday.
A cold front coming from the Pacific Northwest has already dropped some rain in the Sacramento region, according to the National Weather Service.
Some cities in the San Francisco Bay Area have already seen nearly an inch of rain.
Forecasters said the storm could dump up to 8 inches of snow at about 7,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada, and possibly up to 12 inches of snow along the highest mountain peaks.
Local
After 10 a.m. Monday, a wind advisory will go into effect through Tuesday. Westerly wind gusts to 35 mph are possible. This could cause blowing debris, so drivers are urged to exercise caution, especially while traveling through mountain passes.
A small craft advisory has also been issued for our coastal waters, from 1 p.m. Monday until 6 p.m. Tuesday. The advisory covers the ocean from San Mateo Point to the Mexican border, extending out more than 30 miles. Gusty conditions and high waves will make for hazardous sea conditions.
"After 4 p.m., our chances of a shower start to increase, with the tail end of the storm system swinging through between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Mainly light, scattered showers are expected," said NBC 7's Meteorologist Jodi Kodesh.
While all areas will be gusty during this time frame, mountains will remain under a wind advisory through the overnight hours.
Temperatures will drop off 20 degrees for some inland areas over the next couple of days. And along with this cooler weather comes a chance for showers Monday night through Wednesday morning.
We're not expecting great rainfall totals over that period of time as the rain is expected to be scattered and light, but the cooler, breezy weather will be the biggest change.
