Second storm still on track to reach Bay Area on Saturday

The bell for round two in an emerging wet pattern remained on track to go off sometime late Saturday for much of the Bay Area, as a storm system from the north continued to migrate toward the region Friday.

“It’s still shaping up as we have anticipated,” National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Gass said. “Most of the daytime Saturday should be alright.”

The lone area where that may be an exception are portions of the North Bay, according to Gass. The storm is expected to hit land there first before spreading to the rest of the region. It will then likely rain on and off for much of the week

“It won’t be raining all day every day,” Gass said. “But we do expect rain for most of the day Monday and Tuesday and then some more on Wednesday.”

Earlier this week, a low-pressure system dropped more than 2½ inches or rain in areas of Santa Cruz County, a half-inch of rain in San Francisco and on Mount Diablo and about one-third of an inch in San Jose and Oakland. The next storm is expected to drop even more rain, with the weather service predicting between 2 and 4 inches throughout the region. Some isolated areas could get 6 inches, the agency said.

The winds also are expected to increase, according to the weather service. Gass said that by Sunday, wind gusts of up to 45 mph are likely along the upper peaks along the coast. In the lower elevations, the sustained gusts are expected to blow between 15 and 30 mph.

In the Sierra Nevada, the effects from the second storm likely will be felt the most on Monday, with snow expecting to dump above 5,000 feet and widespread travel impacts expected. The elevation for the snow is likely to drop by Tuesday.