San Francisco Braces for First Snow Since 1976 as More Winter Storms Arrive

San Francisco snow 1976 (Clem Albers / San Francisco Chronicle via Getty)
Clem Albers / San Francisco Chronicle via Getty

San Francisco could see light snowfall on higher elevations near the city — and even flurries within city limits — as another winter storm arrives for the latter half of this week, once again defying expectations of a dry winter.

Much of the state is set to experience plummeting temperatures, high winds, and heavy precipitation. The San Francisco Chronicle notes that the Bay Area may also see a “very unusual” snow event, including in the city:

An unusual burst of winter weather is on tap for California later this week as two powerful back-to-back storms drop strong winds and a wintry mix of rain and snow along the entire length of the state. This includes the chance for brief snow showers in parts of San Francisco and Oakland by Thursday morning.

Weather models like the European and North American are predicting the snow line will fall as low as 500 feet by Wednesday night. If this happens, [the neighborhoods of] Mount Davidson, Twin Peaks and Bernal Heights all have a chance of flurries on Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

This also means that residents in the Oakland and Berkeley hills could see a dusting of snow on Thursday morning just before the snow line climbs back up to 1,000 feet.

It has only snowed 11 times in San Francisco’s recorded history, dating back to the mid-19th century. The last time snow was recorded in the city was in 1976, the Chronicle notes.

Los Angeles residents are also bracing for heavy rain, and the nearby mountains are also expected to see a generous dumping of snow. “Parts of Southern California could see snow starting early Wednesday at elevations as low as 1,500 feet, and even lower in parts of Northern California, some forecasters said,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

Snow is even possible in the Santa Monica Mountains, which ring the coast at elevations from 1,500 to 3,000 feet.

Winter storms inundated the state from late December through mid-January, potentially ending a three-year drought and surprising weather forecasters, who had predicted a third straight dry La Niña winter.

While the weather has delighted skiers and tourists by dropping massive accumulations of snow on the mountains, residents have been frustrated by the state’s inability to capture most of the water for use.

The rainfall thus far this winter season could have supplied the state’s water needs for ten years, had it been collected in reservoirs. However, some 95% of it was simply allowed to wash out to sea, lost for potential use.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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