Rainy, grey winter days are making a comeback, providing a welcome respite to the North Coast after last year's near-drought conditions dipped reservoir levels to worrisome levels.
A northeastern front brought a half-inch of rain Tuesday and sent temperatures falling to record lows of about 49 degrees at the day's warmest and 43 degrees at its coolest, said Diana Henderson, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Monterey.
As the rains peter out around lunchtime Wednesday, patches of sunshine may break through the clouds and temperatures should rise and hover around 60 degrees through next week.
Friday's rainfall is expected to bring up to two inches across the county and up to three inches at higher elevations.
About 20 inches of rain have fallen so far this season, compared to under 15 inches that fell last year, Henderson said.
"It'll probably still be raining for a couple of months yet," Henderson said.
Water supply levels were at about 100 percent at Lake Sonoma and just over 105 percent at Lake Mendocino by Tuesday afternoon's measurements.
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