Rain went to southern California, snow to the Sierra

Another storm moves south through California this weekend, bringing rain across the state and pounding Northern California with snow.

Forecasters say wet weather will begin early Saturday morning in Southern California, with possible light showers in San Luis Obispo, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Heavier rains will hit Los Angeles County late Saturday night through early Sunday morning, said Ryan Kittell, a weather forecaster with the Oxnard National Weather Service.

Valleys and coastal areas can count on 1 to 2
inches of rain while projecting 2 to 5 inches into the mountains and hills. The San Gabriel Mountains and the foothills of Santa Barbara County will get most of the rain, weather experts said.

The storm will bring snow that should benefit Sierra Nevada snowpack and help boost the state’s water storage during one of the driest periods in California history.

Weather experts have been optimistic about the state’s precipitation totals so far this year, which began Oct. 1 and are healthy in some areas, including LA and Santa Barbara counties. “We’re roughly at the pace we would normally be and this storm would push all areas past pace,” Kittell said.

Unlike the storm earlier this week, “which didn’t die until it passed Santa Barbara County,” this one will be more stable, Kittell said.

“This storm looks like it’s going to be cohesive and delivering fairly even amounts of rain through … really all of southwest California,” Kittell said.

Northern California braced itself for another major winter storm early Friday after a more moderate overnight system dumped 2 to 7 inches of snow over the Sierra Nevada and 9 to 14 inches in the northern coastal region and Shasta County, weather officials said.

More than a dozen ski resorts were at least partially open Friday morning, including Soda Springs, which reported 22 inches of fresh energy, and Palisades Tahoe, which reported 6 inches. Mammoth Mountain — Southern California’s top ski resort — reported all of its runs were open, with more than 100 inches of packed powder.

“We’re in a lull right now between our two storms,” ​​said Hannah Chandler-Cooley, weather forecaster with the Sacramento National Weather Service. “The next storm will be significantly stronger, probably one of the strongest of the year up to this point.”

A winter storm warning is in effect for the coastal area from 4 p.m. Friday to 4 a.m. Sunday. The Weather Service also issued a winter storm warning for the Sierra Nevada above 3,500 feet from 10 p.m. Friday through 4 p.m. Monday. A Wind warning is in effect Saturday from midnight to 3 p.m.

Forecasters are predicting 2 to 5 feet of snow locally and up to 6 feet on the highest peaks in the Sierra Nevada and 1 to 3 feet locally, with up to 5 feet on peaks over 3,500 feet over the Southern Cascades and Coast Range. The road conditions will deteriorate rapidly with almost zero visibility at times, the weather service said and advised motorists to end their climb on Friday afternoon.