Moderate to Heavy Sierra Snow Builds Through Saturday With Northwest Flood Risks

A weather system arriving from the Pacific will bring periods of moderate to heavy rain into Washington, Oregon and northern California beginning Friday. Additional moisture on Saturday will focus more rain along the Northwest coast, raising localized flooding concerns especially in northwest Washington. Strong southerly gusty winds will create hazardous conditions along coastal areas and headlands on Friday, and watches plus advisories remain in effect across parts of Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada.

Moisture moving inland will interact with higher terrain and cooler air to produce moderate to heavy snow across the Sierra through Saturday. High-elevation snow is also expected over the northern California ranges as the onshore flow continues.

Precipitation will spread farther inland across the Intermountain West, favoring rain at lower elevations and snow over the mountains. By Saturday colder air arriving with the system will support a mix of rain and snow across central and northern portions of the region as well as parts of the Four Corners.

Showers and thunderstorms will develop across the Four Corners and Southwest through Saturday as a southern system advances. These showers will also reach into western Texas.

Rainfall amounts will gradually increase across portions of the southern High Plains and Texas on Saturday as the system moves eastward and draws in additional moisture from the Gulf.

Cold air circulating over the Great Lakes will keep lake-effect showers going, with the potential for snow continuing through Saturday.

Scattered showers will linger across portions of New England, where colder air will favor a change from rain to snow over the higher elevations. Wrap-around showers remain possible in the region.

Scattered showers will also be possible across the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic. Higher elevations of the Appalachians carry a chance of snow as the colder air settles in.