Bay Area weather service says, 'The storm door is open'

A cold front passing over the San Francisco Bay Area Sunday night delivered widespread light rain, and the National Weather Service said Monday morning this was only the beginning of the rain the region will see in coming days.

A parade of storms is forecast to sweep the region in coming days, and over the next week deliver up to 4 to 5 inches in the North Bay, up to 2 inches in San Francisco and the East Bay and up to an inch in the South Bay.

"The Storm Door is officially open," the weather service wrote on Twitter. "A series of wet systems are expected to impact the region throughout the week and into the weekend. Still some uncertainty in the long term, but more rain is on tap."

A weak storm system swept the Bay Area Sunday night and light showers lingered Monday morning.

Rainfall totals ranged from a few hundredths of an inch to nearly half-inch.

"The weak cold front that moved through the SF Bay Area late Sunday and this morning was minimal at best," meteorologist Jan Null with Golden Gate Weather Services wrote on Twitter. "Most lower elevations had <0.10", while the wetter spots of the Coast Range recoded on the order of 0.25"."

Some of the higher elevations in northwestern Sonoma saw the highest totals, approaching a half-inch.

Conditions are expected to be dry with mild temperatures Monday afternoon into Tuesday afternoon. Afternoon highs today and tomorrow will peak in the 60s in most areas, the weather service said.

"The main focus of the forecast will be the wetter conditions expected in the mid week followed by a cavalcade of rain chances in the mid to long term forecast," the weather service said in its forecast.

The first storm of the week is expected to arrive Tuesday night, likely delivering more rain than Sunday night's system. Another storm is forecast for Thursday into Friday and the wettest weather is likely over the weekend.

"This is extremely beneficial rainfall," said Matt Mehle, a forecaster with the weather service. "It's going to do quite a bit of stuff. First and foremost for parts of California it will probably end fire season. It's not a huge atmospheric river but it will still be notable for most of the area."

The North Bay will see the most rain and the coastal mountains of Sonoma County could receive up to 5 inches.