Steady rain and snow to come as atmospheric river approaches Valley

With this next round of showers, some areas on the Valley floor could see an inch of rain.
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Many people took to the outdoors with above-average conditions on Monday.

Typically, during this time of year, temperatures are in the 50s, but across the Central Valley, many areas are feeling like spring with temperatures in the 70s.

However, the warmer temperatures won't last for long as an approaching atmospheric river will bring steady rainfall.
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"This is going to be one of those storms where we are going to see rain for almost 24 hours. It's going to be light rain, but it's going to be steady rain," explained Carlos Molina, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service

Much of the San Joaquin Valley will see 0.5-1" of rain and snow will remain above 7,000 feet to start.

This new storm comes as CAL OES tried to clarify a viral video claiming a so-called ark storm is coming.



The National Weather Service says an ark storm is a rare phenomenon that can happen. It's just not happening this week.
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"It's actually an atmospheric river, but it's an atmospheric river that happens once every thousand years," said Molina.

For the storm that's actually happening this week, though, snow levels will stay above 7,000 feet to start.

The High Sierra and ski resorts are expecting a good dusting, leaving perfect conditions for this weekend.

"China Peaks is lucky in that almost the entire ski resort faces north, and because of that, we get very little of that softening. A lot of skiers, if they are facing south or west, they'll get more of that softening," said Tim Cohee, the president of China Peak.

With the timing of this storm, the heaviest rainfall is expected Thursday.



Temperatures are also expected to return to the 50s by then.

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