Will this week’s atmospheric river impact the Bay Area?

(KRON) — An early season atmospheric river is expected to bring widespread rain, breezy winds and cooler temps to all of western Washington and northwest Oregon Thursday night through Saturday afternoon. A surface storm, fueled by a moderate atmospheric river, will give an added boost to forecast rain totals across the region on Friday and Saturday.

Forecast models show high confidence in widespread rainfall beginning early Friday and lingering into Saturday around northwest Oregon and southwest Washington.

Rainfall will likely make it over the Cascades too, bringing moisture and relief to wildfire dangers to the drier parts of the state.

Locally, many residents are wondering what impact, if any, the weather system will bring to the Bay Area.

“The Bay Area will see limited impacts,” said KRON4 Meteorologist Gayle Ong.

But that is not to say we will be completely unaffected locally.

“The storm will influence our weather through gusty northwest winds up to 25-35 mph along the coast and valleys Thursday afternoon and evening,” Ong said. “A cooler and cloudier weather pattern is in store for this weekend with inland highs in the upper 70s, upper 60s around the bay and low 60s around the coast.”

While atmospheric rivers can develop at all times of the year, they are more common during the fall and winter. In the winter and early spring of 2023, the Bay Area was pummeled by a series of atmospheric rivers that brought historic levels of rainfall, and destruction.