The Bay Area Basks in the Sun, Before an Atmospheric River Rolls in This Week | KQED

"People enjoy at Baker Beach near the Golden Gate Bridge during a warm weather in San Francisco, California, on Feb. 26, 2025. After a streak of sunshine, forecasters said the skies will turn dramatically, with a 20% chance of thunderstorms across the entire Bay Area on Wednesday. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images) The Bay Area's weather this week is a tale of two extremes: warm sunny days and an atmospheric river storm that could bring multiple inches of rain."

"But on the high end, meteorologists said nearly 2 inches of rain could fall from Santa Rosa to San Francisco. The highest peaks could see almost 3 inches of rain. "Folks should be prepared for a wet system," Gass said. "But we're only expecting minor flooding concerns, especially in low-lying areas and flood-prone areas. We don't anticipate any major river flooding.""

"Weather experts measure the intensity of atmospheric rivers on a scale from 0 to 5. This week's storm could reach a 3 across the entire Bay Area, according to atmospheric river-scale modeling by the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. "It looks like it will be a fairly short-duration event, maybe less than forty-eight hours total," said Chad Hecht, a CW3E meteorologist based in Sacramento."

The Bay Area will transition from warm sunny conditions to an atmospheric river storm that could drop multiple inches of rain. Rain totals may range from under one inch across much of the region to nearly two inches between Santa Rosa and San Francisco, with the highest peaks approaching three inches. The storm could reach a category 3 on the atmospheric river scale and last less than forty-eight hours. Strong winds are expected, with gusts up to 40 mph widely and up to 50 mph along peaks and the coast. Minor flooding in low-lying and flood-prone areas, urban ponding, and travel disruptions are possible. The Sierra Nevada may receive up to four inches of precipitation with snowfall at higher elevations. Major river flooding is not anticipated.

Read at Kqed