The hills east of San Jose and mountains of San Benito County are likely to see more snow and more windy, dangerous conditions this afternoon, based on the latest winter weather advisory from the National Weather Service.
Forecasters late Sunday, updated this morning, predicted that the eastern Santa Clara County and East Bay hills, plus the Santa Lucia Mountains, the Los Padres National Forest and Pinnacles National Park will get hit by new snow showers and high winds.
Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton east of San Jose reported nearly two feet of snow from the storms of Feb.23-26, and as of today, the road to the observatory was still closed by snow.
The weather service predicted new snow accumulations beginning today would be 5 to 10 inches for elevations above 3000 feet locally to more than one foot of new snow above 4000 feet through Tuesday.
Downed trees and more power outages are possible.
Road to Lick Observatory, shown here last weekend, remained closed today.
Lick Observatory photo
“A wintry mix down to 2500 feet is possible, with a coating to 3 inches of snow,” according to the latest forecast.
Wind gusts are expected to reach 40 to 50 mph, with blowing snow and reduced visibility in the higher elevations.
San Jose and other bay-level communities can expect rain showers, possibly even thunderstorms after 4 pm today, with high temperatures near 49, and southwest winds gusting to 25 mph.
New rainfall amounts up to a half of an inch are possible, forecasters said..
Showers and possible thunderstorms are to continue tonight, with temperatures falling into the 30s, as winds subside.
Tomorrow, Feb. 28, showers and more thunderstorms will occur until 10pm, with highs near 50 and lows falling again into the 30s.
The weather services warned that in the hills surrounding San Jose, slick, snow-covered roads and hiking trails will be dangerous.
Nearly 8,500 PG&E customers in the Bay Area were without power this morning as storm-related outages persist around the region. As of 9:30am, the North Bay had the largest number of those without power, with 4,944 customers affected, according to PG&E.
In the South Bay, 3,158 were without power, and the Peninsula had 226 affected.
Because of colder temperatures and rainy conditions, some San Jose facilities are being used as warming locations during regular operating hours. For information on cold weather safety and County of Santa Clara Warming Center locations, visit the County of Santa Clara's webpage. Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is offering free rides through Wednesday to any of the warming centers in the County.
For information on overnight shelter locations, visit the County of Santa Clara Office of Supportive Housing. Individuals who do not have referrals for overnight sheltering may call the County’s shelter hotline HERE4YOU at 408-385-2400 for assistance finding shelters or 2-1-1 for information on expanded shelters and additional services in Santa Clara County.
The warming center locations through March 2 are at the Santa Clara Senior Center, 1303 Fremont St., Community Recreation Center, 969 Kiely Blvd., Central Park Library, 2635 Homestead Road, Mission Branch Library, 1098 Lexington St., and Northside Branch Library, 695 Moreland Way. Click here for more information
