Major Winter Storm Coming to California Will Bring Heavy Rains, Snow and Strong Winds

While most of the country will see nice weather this week, an intense storm coming to California is developing off the Pacific and set to hit hard over the next few days. Packing drenching rains, damaging winds, and flooding, this powerful system marks the worst California snow storm so far for the Golden State.

Northern California to Get Hit First

Forecasters have been tracking this storm hitting California since mid-January, warning that its heavy rainfall and high winds could cause flash flooding, mudslides, and major travel issues. The Northern California storm will take aim on Wednesday before turning into a Southern California storm on Thursday.

The atmospheric river effect will act like a firehose, aiming tremendous moisture straight at the state's coastline and saturating multiple regions with intense downpours. Total rainfall accumulations of 2-4 inches are likely over wide areas, with some coastal mountains seeing up to 6 inches of rain falling in less than 2 days.

The Bay Area around San Francisco and inland towards Sacramento are almost certain to see 2-4 inches of heavy rainfall starting Wednesday night and lasting through Thursday.