significant weather change on the way

After a wonderful weather weekend in Chico, with highs in the mid to upper 70s and abundant sunshine, we'll get one more day of this type of weather before a major pattern change affects us. Tomorrow (Monday) will be sunny and continued warm to kick off the work and school week (Chico State students return from spring break tomorrow). By Tuesday, a cold front moves in and brings periods of rain and gusty winds. Wind speeds will range from 15-25 mph in the valley, with gusts to 45 mph on higher mountain ridgetops. Rain tapers to showers beginning Tuesday night and continuing into Wednesday. Rainfall totals by late Wednesday for the valley could be up to three quarters of an inch, while parts of the Sierra Nevada could see one to two feet of snow above 5000 feet by Thursday. Snow levels will initially be high, above 5000 feet, but will lower to 4000 feet by Wednesday after the cold front passes. A trough will set up behind the cold front, giving us periods of showers through next weekend. High temps will be a good 10-15 degrees cooler than what we have seen recently for much of this upcoming week. Here is the detailed seven day forecast for Chico from the National Weather Service: Tonight Clear, with a low around 41. West wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable in the evening. Monday Sunny, with a high near 78. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon. Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 46. East southeast wind 6 to 9 mph. Tuesday Rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. Southeast wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. Tuesday Night Showers likely. Cloudy, with a low around 45. Southeast wind 8 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Wednesday Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Wednesday Night A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Thursday A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. Thursday Night A slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. Friday A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. Friday Night A slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48. Saturday A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67. Saturday Night A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. Sunday A slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65.