Bay Area Storm: Rain returns Friday as wet weekend approaches
While Thursday offered a brief respite from the rain and wind gusts Bay Area residents have become accustomed to at the start of 2023, Friday was expected to usher in a wet new wave of weather for the next week.
Rain returns this morning and persists into the weekend. Also look out for gusty winds and hazardous beach and marine conditions. We may even see a thunderstorm or two. Watch out for more flooding and possibly falling trees given the wet soil and wind. Stay safe! #cawx pic.twitter.com/FvwSJpzgox
— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) January 13, 2023
National Weather Service forecasts projected up to half of an inch of rain in San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland, with as much as three-quarters of an inch on the coast in places such as Half Moon Bay and Pacifica. Projections were lower in the East Bay, with Livermore expected to reach no more than one-quarter inch of rain Friday.
“[Rain amounts] gradually decreases as you head east so the East Bay is looking at a quarter to a half inch, and of course the South Bay is looking at probably the same,” said NWS meteorologist Eleanor Dhuyvetter. “The San Francisco Peninsula and San Mateo seeing more, half of an inch to an inch, especially in the hills there.”
A Wind Advisory has been posted for much of the region through 10 am Friday morning. Wind gusts will be strongest near the coastal waters and higher elevations, with gusts to 45 mph possible. #cawx pic.twitter.com/MnoeIrvBHz
— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) January 13, 2023
When the rain kicks in Friday morning, it’s likely to have an extended stay in the Bay Area. Dhuyvetter said Saturday is the main concern for the NWS as a new, stronger cold front moves in. But these storms coming in weren’t expected to be among the strongest the Bay Area has seen in the new year.
“These series of fronts are going to be more moderate with Saturday being the strongest,” Dhuyvetter said. “But with things just so saturated right now it really doesn’t take much for some of the flooding issues and that’s kind of the impacts we’re seeing.”
Saturday forecasts show wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour and an inch of rainfall in downtown San Jose. In Oakland, rain totals could be as high as one inch with 24 mph winds and San Francisco could see three-quarters of an inch with 21 mph gusts.
Sunday could be even more moderate, with no more than one-quarter of an inch expected in urban centers. But the rain was predicted to linger, with NWS forecasts showing wet conditions lasting into Thursday.
Despite the lower wind and rain numbers, high amounts of saturation could still present problems throughout the region. Trees are more susceptible to falling with highly saturated soils, and already rising water levels could get higher with added rainfall.
“Everything is a little bit more sensitive even though it’s more moderate kind of fronts moving through,” Dhuyvetter said. “We’re still trying to watch out for where impacts could be.”