Rain and Snow to Ease Drought for So Cal: Winter Storm Warnings for Mountains

Heavy rain and snow forecast for next week look like the beginning of a big change in the current weather pattern and perhaps a signal that the end of California's three-year-long drought is near.

The finale to the region's long spell of mild late fall weather will come in three stages, said Dave Reynolds, chief meteorologist for the National Weather Service's forecast office in Monterey.

The first is a weather front expected late Sunday that is forecast to bring rain to Northern California and "a fairly low snowfall," down to 2,000 feet. The Weather Service forecast for early next week calls for chilly temperatures in the Bay Area with a chance of snow dusting the higher hills.

And that storm is only the curtain-raiser.

Reynolds thinks it will be followed by a powerful series of storms, with more rain on the coast, large ocean swells up to 25 feet high and heavy snow in the Sierra. These storms, which are forecast to hit about Tuesday and last the rest of the week, are likely to be the strongest in the region over the last seven years, Reynolds said.

"This is a very dramatic change," he said. "The storm door is open."

The third stage of the winter will come in January in what could be the development of an El Niño condition, which, if it works out, could end the drought.

The early December storms will bring the usual: poor driving conditions, high winds, possible power outages and flooding - and a silver lining.