Snow Expected on Mt. Diablo This Weekend

After a slow start to the rainfall season, many East Bay locations picked up one to two inches between Christmas and New Year’s. However, rainfall totals into the New Year are still below normal.  Oakland has recorded only 3.19 inches of rain since the season began on October 1, which is only 48 percent of normal. Rainfall at the Hayward Airport measured 4.86 inches, almost 90 percent of normal.

After today’s rain, a much colder storm moves into Saturday night and Sunday.  Rainfall amounts look to be as much as an inch, with the higher amounts falling in the Oakland and Berkeley Hills.

This storm is coming down the coast from the Gulf of Alaska and will be the coldest so far this season. Snow is likely above 3,500 feet on Mt. Diablo and on Mt. Hamilton in the South Bay. 

Several inches of snow are expected on Mt. St. Helena in Napa Co.  Most weather systems so far this season have been coming up from the southwestern Pacific and have contained milder, sub-tropical air and have not left a lot of snow at Ski rests in the High Sierra. Snow depths so far are only in the one to two-foot range or about 10 to 20 percent.

Last year, at this time, there were 76 inches of snow on the ground near Donner Pass. The incoming weather system could double or triple the snow on the ground.