SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Early May in Northern California has seen lots of extreme weather.
The month kicked off with warm and windy fire conditions, setting up up two weekends of red flag warnings, which resulted in a number of grassfires in Northern California.
This week, however, we return to normal May weather for Northern California. Wind will bring a range of temperatures to the Valley with temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s, if locations do not traditionally get an onshore wind.
Winds will range in the 10 - 15 mph zone for much of the week. Higher elevations will have mild conditions as well, with temperatures in the 60s and 70s.
But a late week threat of snow may catch some off guard. On Thursday, a system clips the Sierra and brings the potential for 1 - 2 inches of snow to the pass level and just below. Early morning snow levels will hover around 4,500 feet and in the afternoon, that should rises to 5,500 feet above elevation.
Vegetation will get a dusting of snow that should stick, but it's unclear how the road conditions will change. Often, the road surface temperature is higher in May and any snow should melt on contact, which could create slippery and slushy conditions, but may not freeze and create snowpacked chain-control issues.
Check ahead for road conditions before any traveling later in the week.
Also, many involved in camping, hiking, off-roading will need to check the weather later this week to make sure their plans can happen with light snow in the forecast.
Your weather and nature photos | Spring/Summer 2021
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