California’s earliest snow advisory in nearly 20 years could also bring month’s worth of rain

By Allison Chinchar and Elliana Hebert | CNN

A low pressure system moving into the West Coast today will bring rare early-season snow and rain to California through Monday.

“A winter weather advisory is in effect for portions of the Sierra Nevada above 8,000 feet where up to 4 inches of snow could fall,” the National Weather Service office in Hanford said.

Visitors to Yosemite National Park may encounter snow as they drive through the park. Up to 2 inches of snow is possible from Tuolumne Meadows and Tioga Pass, one of the main thoroughfares in the park.

The last time a similar weather alert was issued in September was a snow advisory from Yosemite to Kings Canyon back in 2007.

There have only been five September snowfalls on record in Grant Grove, California, which is just west of Kings Canyon National Park, and is around 7,000 feet in elevation. The last time this area had snow in September was in 1986.

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This system will push across the Intermountain West and into the Rockies on Tuesday. Up to one inch of rain is expected across portions of Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, and northern California, with isolated amounts of 2 to 4 inches possible through Thursday.

While these amounts may not seem high, this is the drier part of the year so this will equate to a month’s worth of rain for cities like Reno, Boise, and Redding, California.

The widespread precipitation chances will also bring much cooler temperatures to the region over the next few days. Portions of Oregon, California, Nevada, and Idaho will see temperatures 15 to 20 degrees below normal, including Reno, Nevada; Medford, Oregon; as well as Bakersfield, Fresno, and Sacramento, California.