Snow, Thunderstorms, Near Freezing Temps: Tri-Valley Thanksgiving

TRI-VALLEY, CA — A strong cold front will bring widespread rain to the East Bay Tuesday afternoon and evening, while showers, lowering snow levels, and possible thunderstorms are forecast for Wednesday into Thanksgiving, according to the National Weather Service.

"All hands on deck as we prepare for the first real storm of the season," the NWS said.

Locally, the San Francisco Bay Area and central California coast will see south to southwest winds increase during Tuesday afternoon hours ahead of the cold front that will subsequently sweep through the area during the evening hours.

A wind advisory will take effect in the East Bay Hills and Diablo Range from 4 p.m. Tuesday to 4 a.m. Wednesday, the NWS said.

Rainfall across the East Bay will start off light to moderate Tuesday, but then become briefly heavy as the cold front comes in from the northwest. Tuesday's heaviest rain periods are expected to be from around 4-7 p.m. in the North Bay and from 6-9 pm in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose.

Temperatures are expected to plummet by midday Wednesday and there is the possibility of numerous showers and even scattered thunderstorms into Thanksgiving Day, with snow dropping in the higher Diablo Range elevations above 3,000 feet, according to the NWS.

Snow levels will continue dropping overnight Wednesday and into Thanksgiving Day — as low as 2,000 feet in some places.

The cold temperatures are not just forecast in high elevations. By Thanksgiving night, near-freezing or below-freezing temperatures are possible in the Tri-Valley, according to the NWS.

The unsettled weather pattern will continue into the weekend as another storm system will begin impacting central and northern California on Saturday with additional systems possible again early next week, according to the NWS.