Ready For Snow? Show Us Your Pictures! Flakes Predicted at 1,000-Foot Level

If you’re lucky this weekend, you’ll stick out your tongue and catch a snowflake.

Low-falling snow may tempt our Mediterranean-climate-loving selves to play hooky on Friday, Bay Area meteorologists are saying.

From the Santa Cruz Mountains to the Mt. Diablo range, and from Sonoma Mountain to Mount Madonna, meteorologists predict snow will fall on anything above 1,000 feet Thursday night.

By Friday night, scattered precipitation could deliver snow at sea level in some spots—depending on when the really cold temperatures arrive.

“It has to be the right combination of factors, in just the right sequence,” said Jan Null, meteorologist with Golden Gate Weather Services. “First, you need the cold air, then the precipitation, not just cold rain.”

The last time just the right combination came together was 35 years ago, on Feb. 5, 1976, when a broad cold front brought snow all over the Bay Area. Before that, less than an inch fell on Jan. 15, 1962, just a few months after President Obama was born.

The heaviest precipitation will likely arrive in the Bay Area on Thursday and is predicted to be over before the very cold air arrives that would bring snow lower. The best guess is that there's only a 50:50 chance for snow here, but you never know in the weather business.

“The temperatures are going to be a bigger story after that,” said Null, who expects a hard freeze from Saturday morning to Sunday, with lots of 20-degree readings across the Bay Area.

Still, on Friday morning, you could very well see the Santa Cruz Mountains—which climb from 1,000 to 3,000 feet—quite covered with snow, Null said. Within view on a good, cold clear day, look for snow on the following peaks:

• Mt. Hamilton, at 4,196 feet
• Mission Peak, at 2,517 feet
• Mt. Diablo, at 3,864 feet
• Mt. Madonna, at 1,800 feet

Meanwhile, the California Highway Patrol is gearing up to find flatlanders heading for those hills to flex their snowball-throwing muscles—and getting their vehicles stuck when they pull off the road to play. They often don't consider that the ground underneath can be too soggy for traction.

"Pull out in a parking lot or a turn-out, someplace safe," said CHP officer Amelia Jack, who sees the 911 calls all the time in the Santa Cruz Mountains. She urges people to think first.

"We call you a tow and we won't leave you stuck there, but it's a safety hazard when you pull out where you're not supposed to be." 

This weather is also treacherous for those who don’t have snowman-building-with-the-family on the agenda.

“We recommend you have a back-up plan if you go over mountains for your commute,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Anderson.

If driving conditions are hazardous, Caltrans often shuts down Highway 17 between Santa Cruz and the Silicon Valley. Ditto for Mt. Hamilton rising on the opposite range above Silicon Valley. Authorities shut the gate at Mt. Diablo Junction leading to Mt. Diablo.

Anderson just shakes his head when it comes to Sonoma County. “It's just going to be a mess Friday morning,” he said. “People will be trying to get over mountains, and they won't be able to get over.”

If you do find yourselves heading to the nearby hills, share your photos with Patch here!