A woman sits under an umbrella during a light rainfall in Alameda, Calif., on Mar. 3, 2022.
The San Francisco Bay Area saw record-breaking temperatures Tuesday amid an early spring heat wave, and more warm weather is on tap for inland areas Wednesday. But a shift is coming in the weather soon, with Thursday expected to be the start of a cooldown, and rain entering the forecast Sunday night, the National Weather Service said.
Initial storm totals are projecting anywhere from 0.2 to 0.5 inch on Sunday and Monday, but weather service meteorologist Roger Gass said those could change in coming days.
“It’s still difficult to really pinpoint all the impacts we’re going to have from this system,” he said. “All in all, it looks to be a relatively weak system. The majority of the region should see some rainfall, but how much is still up in the air. I would say probabilities are pretty high for all the Bay Area to get some rain, but the confidence, the details and the amount still remains up in the air.”
The Bay Area last saw rain on Saturday when a weak storm delivered mostly light showers and drizzle. Gass said this upcoming system has the potential to bring slightly more rain, mainly because it’s expected to linger a little longer.
“The last system swept through at a pretty decent pace,” he said. “This one looks to be a little slower moving.”
Could this be the last rain of the season?
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Gass said. “In April, we do get occasional rain showers. I wouldn’t quite go that far. But that said, our quote unquote ‘rainy season’ is starting to wind down. And once we get past April, historically our precipitation drops off after that.”