Most of Northern California is under a thunderstorm watch through Monday evening and again Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Areas of the Central Valley, including the Mother Lode and the Sacramento and Northern San Joaquin County areas, are also under a wind advisory through 4 p.m. Monday, the weather service says.
“Hail, gusty winds, & even a couple of weak tornadoes are all possible,” the weather service posted to Social Media Monday morning.
Stockton itself could see wind gusts of up to 35 miles per hour, NWS meteorologist Hannah Chandler-Cooley told Stocktonia Monday.
The Central Valley will also see “Moderate to locally heavy rain,” Chandler-Cooley says there isn’t likely to be widespread flooding like was seen over the New Year.
For the current storm moving across Northern California, Chandler-Cooley said Stockton is forecasted to see up to one inch of rain. There will be a break in precipitation Thursday and Friday, before another system that “looks weaker” brings in a possible tenth of an inch over the weekend.
“We are not worried about any widespread flooding with these storms,” Chandler-Cooley said. “If thunderstorms do form and they produce heavy rain, there could be localized ponding of water on streets and stuff from that.”
Thunderstorms impacts generally more so include small accumulating hail or graupel, she said. According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory, graupel “is also called snow pellets or soft hail” and typically disintegrates when handled.
There are also blizzard and avalanche warnings Monday in areas of the Sierra Nevada, as well as a winter storm warning for areas of Norther California up to Shasta County and as low as the Northeastern foothills and Sacramento Valley.
Though the snow won’t come as low as last week, Chandler-Cooley said. Snow levels will likely sit at about 1,500 feet elevation, with some areas seeing as low 1,000 feet.
“Any travel is highly, highly discouraged over the mountains,” Chandler-Cooley said. “And any outdoor recreation is also highly discouraged due to the blizzard conditions and … the avalanche warning as well.”
