more rain on the way

Chico's getting a slight break from the weather today after last night's storminess. Chico and Butte County were under two separate Tornado Warnings last evening as a slow-moving thunderstorm moved to the north and east of downtown. There was also plenty of heavy rain, thunder and lightning with this isolated storm. No actual tornadoes touched down, thank goodness. Today we're experiencing partly sunny and dry conditions, with temperatures in the mid 50s. It's been much cooler than normal with these storms, as we should be around 70 degrees this time of year. An even colder storm from the Gulf of Alaska will dive southeastward into Northern California tomorrow, bringing more rain, wind, thunderstorms, and mountain snow. Due to the colder nature of this next storm, snow may fall as low as 2000 feet in elevation. Expect a foot or more of snow above 3000 feet in the Sierra Nevada between Monday and Wednesday. Winter Storm Watches have already been posted for the Sierra, but those will change to warnings by tonight, I'm sure. In the valley, including Chico, up to an inch of rain may fall between Monday and early Wednesday, and thunderstorms are again possible, especially on Tuesday. Winds may gust from the southeast up to 30 mph in the valley, and 45 mph from the southwest in the mountains. We'll get a brief break on Wednesday with sunshine, but another storm arrives on Thursday. Hopefully we'll get a dry weekend next weekend. For now, get ready for more storminess. Here is Chico's seven day forecast from the National Weather Service: This Afternoon A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 61. South southeast wind around 7 mph. Tonight A 20 percent chance of rain after 11pm. Increasing clouds, with a low around 43. East wind 5 to 7 mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Monday Rain likely, mainly after 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 55. Southeast wind 9 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Monday Night Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 11pm, then showers likely. Low around 42. Southeast wind 10 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Tuesday Showers likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54. Southeast wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Tuesday Night A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. Wednesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 44. Thursday A slight chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 61. Thursday Night A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45. Friday A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65. Friday Night A slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45. Saturday A slight chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 69. ***UPDATE*** There was a confirmed touchdown of a tornado Saturday evening in Butte County. It was an EF0 tornado and briefly touched down, causing minor damage to an orchard. This is the seventh confirmed tornado touchdown in California this year, according to the National Weather Service.