News

Once again, Humboldt County is in the calm before the storm.

While Monday’s holiday is expected to be sunny with a high in the mid-50s on the coast and in the mid-to-high 60s inland, the rest of the week’s temperatures are forecast to plummet with each passing day, getting down into the 40s during the day and the 20s at night, with a chance of some snow down to sea level by Wednesday evening, according to the Eureka office of the National Weather Service.

A winter storm watch is in effect from Tuesday at 1 p.m. to Thursday at 4 p.m.

Like last week, when many areas received a dusting and State Route 299 was closed down for a few hours to clear the snow, a cold front coming down from the north is expected to start hitting the region Tuesday, with snow levels falling that night into Wednesday.

Mountain highway passes are expected to be impacted.

According to the winter storm watch, heavy snow is possible above 1,000 feet with “total snow accumulations of 5 to 12 inches possible. Winds could gust as high as 55 mph.”

In lower elevations, hail and “occasional snow” is in the forecast, with “total snow accumulations of up to 1 inch” and “winds gusting as high as 40 mph,” the watch states.

“Rain and snow are expected with this system,” the NWS states in a social media post. “By late night Tuesday to early Wednesday morning, cold upper level air will filter into Northwest California making the threat for low elevation snow more likely. Expect it to be chilly throughout the end of the week.”

While the forecast calls for likely rain/snow in places like Rio Dell, Garberville and Hoopa starting Tuesday night, the chance for snow comes Wednesday night into Thursday morning and Thursday night into Friday morning in coastal areas like Arcata, Eureka, McKinleyville and Fortuna, according to the current forecast.

Regardless, it’s going to be cold.