Name: First weekend of 2026 to bring heavy rain, feet of snow to California
Uploaded: 2026-01-01T18:29:27.694Z
Duration: 1 min 28 s
Description: The new year begins wet and dreary for much of California as showers and thunderstorms are expected to soak the region in the first weekend of 2026, with the Sierra receiving feet of snow.

The new year begins wet and dreary for much of California as showers and thunderstorms are expected to soak the region in the first weekend of 2026, with the Sierra receiving feet of snow.

California

California is set to face a series of storms during the first weekend of 2026, bringing heavy rain and significant snowfall. Southern California has already experienced wet conditions, affecting New Year's festivities, while the Central Valley and northern regions are expected to see increased precipitation as the storms progress.

A brief break in rainfall is anticipated before another surge of storms arrives, delivering additional rain and lowering snow levels across the state. Areas such as Donner Pass are forecast to receive feet of snow, and cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco could see several inches of rain through early the following week.

First weekend of 2026 to bring heavy rain, feet of snow to California

New Year's Eve and the start of New Year's Day has been very wet in Southern California and there have been showers, even spotty thunderstorms that have brought some gusty wind to some parts of the region. But drenching rain has been kind of hampering some of the festivities. It's a big day in Southern California from the Rose Parade earlier to the Rose Bowl with fewer showers as we get deeper into the day. The steadiest rain pulls north into the Central Valley and beyond. Moving forward, we get a little bit of a mini break on Friday. It won't last long. Late Friday night into Saturday, we get back into some drenching rain across much of California as a new surge, a series of storms, rolls in. This is going to be fueled by abundant moisture coming in from the Pacific and that's going to continue to pester the region for the weekend into early and middle parts of next week with rain and snow and the snow levels, the altitude or elevation at which you have to climb to get down below freezing, those snow levels will be dropping. That means some of the lower passes that will have been dealing with rain are going to switch over to snow. So Donner Pass, for example, significant snow. We're looking at feet of snow this weekend into next week in those areas. And after one to two inches of rain in Los Angeles from round one, our little break Friday will precede another one to two inches of rain in Southern California with two to four inches farther north up into areas around San Francisco this weekend into early next week.

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