WATSONVILLE — A major storm system known as an atmospheric river is expected to hit California late Tuesday morning, deluging the lowlands and dumping as much as four feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
The National Weather Service is predicting the storm, which begins on the first day of spring, will last through the week, and ease up on the weekend.
“It’s some of the most significant rainfall we’ve seen this season,” NWS forecaster Steve Anderson said.
The system will peak on Thursday, when the Central Coast is expected to get up to four inches of rain. Snow could fall at 3,000 feet.
Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada range on Monday was 48 percent of average, according to the California Department of Water Resources. That number is up from historic lows earlier this year, before late-season rainfall dumped on the region that feeds the agricultural areas of the Central Valley.
Gusty winds that are expected to peak Tuesday night and again Wednesday night and into Thursday morning could cause power outages due to downed trees and power lines.
Mudslides could occur in areas that were hit by wildfires, most likely along the Big Sur Coast.
The system is predicted to be the last major rainfall of the season.
