Rain expected to return to Bay Area with two storm systems expected by Saturday

The message from the National Weather Service on social media early Wednesday morning was simple and to the point.

“Rain returns today,” it said.

Along with the message came a radar image, tracking a storm system that is descending from the Gulf of Alaska and expected to drop rain in the region by sometime Wednesday night. It’s the first of two systems that are expected to bring rain through Saturday, according to the weather service.

“We have a weak cold front moving through that will probably bring less than a half-inch in the East Bay and South Bay with a bit more heavy rain in the higher elevations,” NWS meteorologist Rachel Kennedy said Wednesday. “But it’s still gonna be less than an inch even in the heavy areas.”

The rain Wednesday is expected to start in those parts of the region “in the late afternoon or early evening,” she said.

The rain from that first system is expected to give way to a 24-hour break on Thursday before heavier rain is expected Friday, Kennedy said. The second system is expected to bring slightly higher rainfall totals, and forecasts indicated that rain is likely to linger into Saturday.

In the North Bay, the totals may be higher than in the East and South Bay, because of the path the systems are taking. Kennedy said both systems are characteristic of storms that develop in the Alaskan Gulf in that they are expected to hit land in the North Bay.

The systems also are expected to bring slightly colder temperatures with it, as well. The high temperatures through Friday are not expected to get much past 60 degrees throughout the region, and the lows are expected to be in the mid-40s.

Winds also are expected to gust between 25-30 mph in the elevated areas of the region on Wednesday. Those could build to gusts of up to 40 mph by the weekend. The weather service has not issued any advisories or warnings.

“We’re not quite to that point,” Kennedy said. “We will keep an eye on that second system. The second one is definitely stronger.”

The systems are expected to move through the region by Sunday, though some areas in the region may see some light rain on the final day of the weekend. Cloudy skies are expected Monday with a sunny and clear outlook with temperatures in the 70s expected by Tuesday.