San Francisco Bay Area weather timeline: Heavy rain, damaging winds for Christmas week storm; up to 8 feet of Sierra snow expected
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — It’s going to be a wet Christmas this week in the Bay Area.
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A stronger storm Tuesday night into early Wednesday will bring heavy showers and a high threat for damaging winds across the Bay Area.
ABC7 meteorologist Drew Tuma has a timeline for the storm this week below.
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Tuesday and Wednesday
Winds will begin picking up along the coast Tuesday afternoon, less than 40 mph, and the radar will be quiet with pockets of drizzle.
A strong Level 3 storm on the ABC7 Exclusive Storm Impact Scale will arrive by 8 p.m., bringing the threat of damaging winds to the Bay Area.
Between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. Wednesday morning, High Wind Warnings are in effect along the coast for gusts up to 75 mph. We will have a high threat for downed trees and also possible power outages.
Some of the strongest winds will likely occur between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. Wednesday.
Winds will dramatically shut off around 4 a.m. Wednesday leading to calmer conditions for the rest of the morning.
Thunderstorms are also possible overnight with a Flood Watch in effect for the entire Bay Area.
Christmas Day Thursday and Friday
There’s more rain in the forecast for Christmas Day and Friday, with the storm at a Level 2. There will be potential for flooding.
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Weekend
Expect things to dry out for the weekend.
Sierra Snow
There will be significant Sierra Snow on Christmas Eve and Day that will create major travel impacts.
Heavy snow begins in the morning Christmas Eve and remains heavy through Christmas night.
Get to Tahoe by Tuesday evening to avoid travel headaches.
There’s an estimated up to 8 feet of new snow coming to the Tahoe resorts.
A Winter Storm Watch is in effect Tuesday through Friday.
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