Weather Forecast: Possible Thunderstorms Thursday
Redding, Chico, Red Bluff
By Mike Krueger
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN THE MOUNTAINS
The main cold front is expected to move through early Thursday morning which is also where the most widespread rain and snow will be before it tapers off. If we can get enough clearing Thursday afternoon we could see enough daytime heating for a few isolated thunderstorms, otherwise, we can expect isolated showers. If we should see thunderstorms develop we could be looking at brief periods of heavy rain, lighting and accumulating hail for areas that are lucky enough to get caught under one of these storms.
The cold air behind the cold front will also help drop our snow levels to as low as 1500 feet in some areas but should generally be above 2000 feet. The lowest elevations could pick up between 1 and 3 inches while elevations above 4000 feet could be looking at 6 to 8 inches of snow. One thing to keep in mind is the fact that the heaviest rain and snow will have passed by the time we see the snow levels at their lowest. However, the snow may impact travel in the mountains so be sure to be aware of the road conditions on the mountain passes before heading out.
There will still be cold and unstable air in place on Friday and we could be looking at another chance for isolated showers and thunderstorms with snow levels between 1500 and 2500 feet.
Once all is said and done the valley will pick up between a tenth and three tenths of an inch of rain with locally higher amounts for areas that experience thunderstorms.
High pressure will start to build over the Northstate starting Saturday and lasting into next week giving us more sunshine and warmer temperatures.