Winter Storm Warning for foothills; rain and snow mix for Chico

It's another cold morning in Chico currently, with 27 degrees at the airport this hour. A quick-moving storm system will move through late this afternoon and overnight tonight, bringing a mix of rain and snow for Chico, and accumulating snow for the Northern Sacramento Valley (Redding), foothills (Paradise, Magalia) and the mountains (Quincy, Lassen Park). Over a foot of snow is expected in the highest elevations above 6000 feet, while foothills communities such as Paradise may see up to six inches. Elevations generally below 1500 feet will see 1-3 inches, while the valley floor above 500 feet may see around an inch. The Winter Storm Warning for the foothills and mountains above 1000 feet is in effect between 4pm today until 7am tomorrow. Rainfall amounts in Chico will be around a quarter of an inch. By tomorrow afternoon, the rain and snow will be a memory, as sunshine returns and temps warm into the mid 40s (warm being relative). If you're sick of the cold weather, fear not, because highs will return to around 60 degrees by late next week. If you're attending the community Christmas tree lighting ceremonies tonight at Chico's Downtown Plaza beginning at 6:30, bring a coat and umbrella, as showers may be falling and the temperature hovers right around 40 degrees. Here's Chico's seven day forecast from the National Weather Service: Today Increasing clouds, with a high near 45. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Tonight Rain and snow, mainly before 4am. Low around 31. South southeast wind 11 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. Saturday A chance of rain and snow before 10am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 43. Light and variable wind becoming west northwest around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 17. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming north northeast in the evening. Sunday Sunny, with a high near 44. North wind 3 to 7 mph. Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 19. Monday Mostly sunny, with a high near 48. Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 21. Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 50. Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. Wednesday Partly sunny, with a high near 56. Wednesday Night A slight chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35. Thursday A slight chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 58.