Update 10:00 p..m.
Rain continues into Wednesday as an atmospheric river takes aim at California.
A band of rain tapping into the tropics is bringing abundant moisture and higher snow levels through Wednesday.
A colder system follows late Wednesday through Saturday. This will lower snow levels from near 7500 feet to near 3500 feet by late Friday.
Winter Storm Warning begins Wednesday afternoon for the Tahoe area with 2-4 feet of snow expected through early Friday.
Winter Storm Watch is in effect from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon for the lower Sierra with 6-20 inches of snow expected.
Update 3:30 p.m.:
For evening commuters, especially those south of Sacramento, be prepared for a period of light rain and slick roads.
Update 1:45 p.m.:
Flash flood watches are going into effect Wednesday for areas of the Sierra Nevada.
SACRAMENTO — The next three days will have rain, snow, and thunderstorms, but not the whole time.
Today is mostly easing into it as we'll see gray skies and a few light showers. Tonight, however, the storm picks up, but we should expect only rain mostly for the mountains. Tomorrow, we get more on-and-off showers, but with a few thunderstorms sprinkled in.
Thursday is the biggest day of this weather cycle, with heavy rain in the valley during the morning commute and rain switching to snow at much lower elevations by the end of the day. Mountain travel Thursday will be slow, with likely chain controls and low visibility due to wind.
Friday, we'll have a few leftover showers and snow, with clouds clearing into the weekend, which is always nice.
All in all, we're going to get a few inches of valley rain, double that for foothills and eventually heavy Sierra snow. This is a solid storm to welcome Spring.
If you hate all this next week we warm up, dry out and enjoy the 70s.
