Here’s the California Weather Forecast Through the Long Weekend

The latest in a series of atmospheric rivers carrying heavy rainfall from the Pacific Ocean began to shower California on Friday, with a more intense surge of moisture expected late Saturday morning and into the afternoon hours.

Forecasters with the Weather Prediction Center of the National Weather Service said one to five inches of rainfall across the state on Saturday would lead to renewed flooding concerns, along with strong winds and thunderstorms. Two to three more feet of snow are expected to fall in the Sierra Nevada.

That’s not a huge amount of rain, comparatively. But the sopping-wet ground can’t handle it. Much of the state’s soil is more than 95 percent saturated from previous rainfall since late December, so any new precipitation, even small amounts, would struggle to soak in and could more rapidly cause runoff and flooding.

Winds could also gust up to 55 miles per hour on Saturday, toppling trees that lose purchase in the wet soil, as has happened across much of the state in recent days, and contributing to power outages.

Sunday morning could see a brief lull before yet another wave of heavy precipitation starts to fall across California on Sunday into Monday — though it’s expected to be lighter than what the state will see on Saturday.

The end of the three-day holiday weekend, however, is also expected to bring an end to a relentless three weeks of rain, as the broader West Coast weather pattern changes. By late next week, California can expect a period of warm and dry weather.