LAKE COUNTY — Up to four inches of rain will be possible for some higher elevations in Lake County this weekend, with snow possible down to below 2,000 feet on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
Despite a flash flood warning issued Thursday morning for the San Francisco Bay area, NWS meteorologist Eric Kurth said it was still unclear whether Lake County would receive a similar warning.
Kurth said Thursday afternoon that within the next 24 hours, he and other NWS meteorologists at the Sacramento office would be monitoring two incoming storm systems for signs of thunderstorms or other heavy rainfall.
“Right now it’s unclear,” Kurth said of a flash flood warning being needed. Should a high enough rate of rainfall be predicted, Lake County will be put on watch for a flash flood warning.
“We’re particularly worried about thunderstorms Saturday, maybe Sunday and Monday,” he said.
For Lake County, with its large swaths of recently burned land, flash floods are a danger when rain gets heavy. “With burn areas, it doesn’t seem to be about sheer amount of rain. It’s all about intensity of rainfall,” Kurth said.
Between two and four inches of rain are likely in the higher, mountainous parts of the county, Kurth said. For lower towns around the lake, roughly two inches can be expected.
Rainfall for the current “water year,” which began in October 2018, is just slightly below average around the county, with some spots varying widely. Kurth noted that while Hough Springs at higher elevation north of Clear Lake had seen 128 percent of average rainfall at this time of the year, Lyons Valley and Cow Mountain were at 69 percent of average.
“In general, it’s about 90 percent of average,” Kurth estimated. “Before we had the January storms, it was at 50 percent at Knoxville Creek and 60 percent at Cache Creek. The last storms were a considerable improvement.”
When the second storm system likely moves into the county on Sunday, snow could be seen in the mountains. By Monday, Kurth said, snow levels could drop down to 2,000 feet, or even 1,500.
“There could be several inches of snow,” Kurth noted.
Snowfall predictions are higher in other parts of Northern California, and Kurth warned against out-of-county travel this weekend and early next week.
“It’s just gonna be a mess,” he said of travel-related traffic. The Sierra Nevadas and even the coastal range could see snow on the roads, he said.
