California braces for heavy rain and snow systems this weekend and into the week

Multiple storm systems will move through the west coast this weekend and into the beginning of the work week, pummeling California with both rain and snow.

The storms in the west are expected to bring flooding and damaging winds across the region, as well as feet of snow in the mountains.

The first of the storms hit California on Saturday, with steady rain beginning Saturday morning in the central and northern regions of the state.

By Saturday night, widespread rain and mountain snow will develop, pushing the storm into the Rockies and Intermountain West by Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, a stronger storm system is approaching the Golden State and is expected to sit offshore for most of the day Sunday before it brings steady rain showers onshore by the late evening.

Late Sunday into Monday is when rainfall rates will peak at 0.5-1" per hour. As Monday continues, Californians can expect torrential rain, mountain snow and damaging wind gusts that will continue throughout most of the day before moving east into the Rockies by Tuesday.

Also on Monday, parts of the Sierra Nevada and northern California ranges could see 2-6 feet of snow.

In lower elevations, rainfall totals will generally range from 2-4”, but will range from 4-8” in the foothills and the mountains, leading to localized flash flooding.

Currently, 26 million people across the state are under Flood Alerts, including in Los Angeles, Fresno, Sacramento and San Francisco.

Similarly, damaging wind gusts are possible, as wind gusts across the state will range from 30-50 mph with some locations in the mountains expecting gusts that exceed 60 mph. Sixteen million people across central and northern California are under Wind Alerts, including in San Francisco.

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