Cold, rain to linger

<p>Keep that umbrella and warm coat handy.</p><p>Chilly temperatures and rain showers are going to be hanging around through much of the week in Santa Rosa.</p><p>And Mendocino and Lake counties could be getting more snow flurries, although little or no accumulation is expected.</p><p>"Cold air is basically the main story," said Brian Tentinger, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, who said light to moderate rain is likely to be in the picture.</p><p>The conditions are great news for skiers and others hoping for a white Christmas in the Sierra.</p><p>Ski resorts in the Donner Summit and Tahoe areas reported as much as a foot of snow from the weekend storm.</p><p>The weather wasn't such good news for motorists needing to travel over the mountains. Chains were required on Interstate 80 over Donner Summit, on Highway 88 over Carson Pass and on Highway 50 over Echo Summit.</p><p>In Santa Rosa, a mantle of frost clung to roofs, lawns and windshields Sunday morning when the temperature dipped to 30 degrees.</p><p>Snow was reported in Ukiah, Willits and Lakeport, a continuation of snow flurries that began Saturday.</p><p>"It's a light frosting of snow," said Cal Fire Capt. Owen Starkweather, who is stationed four miles south of Willits.</p><p>"It's sticking to the trees and vegetation, not to the road," he said Sunday morning. "The grass and dirt are all white."</p><p>The cold was blamed for at least one crash Sunday, when a motorist hit a patch of ice on Highway 101 south of Cloverdale.</p><p>CHP Sgt. Hal Bonilla said a 59-year-old Guerneville woman was northbound on the freeway, near Zanzi Lane around 8 a.m., when she lost control of her car.</p><p>Her late-model Ford Escort ended up upside down in the center divider, and she had to be extricated by rescuers using the "jaws of life."</p><p>But the woman, whose name was not immediately available, suffered only minor injuries. She was taken to a nearby hospital as a precaution.</p><p>"Thank god for seat belts," said Roger Fletcher, an engineer with the Cloverdale Fire Protection District.</p><p>Rainfall totals Sunday ranged from 0.12 inches in Santa Rosa to 0.55 inches in Cloverdale to 0.24 inches in Sonoma.</p><p>The area's high temperature was 48 degrees -- reached in Santa Rosa, Windsor and Rohnert Park. Lakeport, meanwhile, reached a high of only 36 degrees.</p><p>This morning, it's likely to be less chilly, but still cold.</p><p>Overnight temperatures are anticipated to be a little above, or at freezing, for the next few days. And daytime highs will hover in the low-to-mid 40s.</p><p>Showers should be intermittent, and there's even a chance of thunderstorms and small hail.</p><p>"It's weak in the sense of no wind, or heavy rain, but a lot of cold air," Tentinger said of the blast emanating from Canada.</p><p>"Temperatures are definitely below normal," he said.</p><p>The National Weather Service calls for a chance of another 1 to 2 feet of snow in the northern Sierra through Tuesday afternoon and issued a winter storm warning for the Reno-Tahoe area through this afternoon.</p><p>Before the weekend storm, the Sierra snowpack was only 2 percent of average for the date.</p><p>The Associated Press contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.</p><p>com.</p>