The best chance of light-to-moderate steady rain will last through the evening. The CHP is advising commuters to be extra cautious with tonight's commute.
The bulk of the wet weather this morning was across the North Bay. Around 11 a.m. sprinkles to light rain were developing in San Francisco. So far, rainfall amounts are light - at .03" in Concord and .10" in Santa Rosa, but the storm will take the better part of 48 hours to play out. The storm is expected to bring 1.5" of rain to North Bay higher elevations, 75" to South Bay ranges and .25" to .50" to most areas.
By midnight, the first wave of energy will push through and scattered light rain will be in the forecast for tomorrow morning.
Today's temperatures are ranging from the upper 50s to lows 60s. Tonight will be mild with temperatures in the upper 40s to mid-50s.
Sunny and warmer than average weather could come back to the Bay Area as soon as Thursday afternoon. A pattern of dry weather is setting up for the last part of the month.
If you're flying today, flight arrival delays have been reported at San Francisco International Airport. Be sure to check with your airline before taking off.
Stormy weather stays away early in North Bay
The North Bay weathered this first seasonal water with flying colors. Rain even fell at times. Mostly, however, it just threatened to fall. Technically this is what a meteorologist describes as rain.
"It was spattering," said one resident.
"This is barely rain. It's a drizzle," said another.
Or, for the optimistic among us, a start because experts say we need the water. Case in point, roughly two hours north of San Francisco, Lake Mendocino is roughly at 30 percent capacity. The water is about as low as it has ever been at this time of year.
"We are very happy to see this rain. We could use a lot more of it," said Pam Jeane Assistant General Manager of the Sonoma County Water Agency.
Jeff Bradley says he hasn't seen it this low since the drought year of 1977 and yet, he says it's too early to worry.
"It's happened before; it's going to happen again. We're still here," he said.
And the rain, if you can call it that, is back.
