California to dry out following rain, mountain snow on Saturday

By Brett Rathbun, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist

January 23,2016; 10:39AM,EST

 

 

Following a wet start to the weekend, a stretch of sunny, dry weather is in store for California during much of next week.
The final storm in a recent series of systems will impact the state through Saturday.

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The steadiest rain will concentrate on the northern and central portions of the state, but there may be enough moisture to bring a spotty shower to parts of Southern California.
According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski, "From 0.50 of an inch to 1 inch of rain will fall from San Francisco to Crescent City, California, and the Sacramento Valley through Saturday."

Those traveling on Interstate 5 from Bakersfield, California, to the Oregon border will need to keep the windshield wipers running.
People in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas to the Inland Empire can expect a couple of showers.
Use AccuWeather Minutecast® to track the rain across your area.
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This storm will also produce another round of heavy snow to the northern Sierra Nevada.
"Near and above 7,000 feet, 1-2 feet of snow will fall from the storm into Saturday evening," Sosnowski said. "Enough snow will fall on I-80 over Donner Pass to make for very slippery and difficult travel."
By next week, high pressure will build across the Intermountain West to bring a stretch of dry weather to much of California and the southwestern United States.

During most of the final week of January, partial sunshine and near- or slightly above-normal temperatures are expected from San Diego to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Pacific storms will aim farther north, impacting the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. It is not out of the realm of possibilities that a few showers may clip parts of northern California during the week. Any rainfall that occurs will be light.
According to AccuWeather Chief Long Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok, look for several storms to track far enough to the south to bring significant rain and mountain snow to Southern California and much of the state beginning toward the last day of January into the first part of February.
"During the first half of February, the western United States will trend colder than average, while the East begins to warm up," Pastelok said.