Pattern change to bring drier trend to most of California through mid-December

Several storms have barreled across much of California since before Thanksgiving. But now, a shift in the weather pattern looks to bring calmer weather.

Storm after storm dove across the state over the past several weeks, delivering rain, wind and mountain snow.

The jet stream, which helps to influence the track storm systems take, was a big part of the reason for the recent storminess.

Following a final storm this past weekend, the jet stream will begin to lift northward, moving the storm track into the Pacific Northwest.

"With the northward shift in the storms, much of Central and Southern California will get a break from the wet weather," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Edwards.

Temperatures in the upper 50s F and sunshine will return to the Fresno area most afternoons, while highs in the upper 60s and lower 70s are expected in Los Angeles this week.

Overall, this pattern will keep the weather from interfering with shoppers and travelers ahead of the December holidays.

A few opportunities for wet weather will still present themselves for communities north of the Bay area.

"Any rain, or high-elevation snow, that Northern California sees this week will be much lighter in nature than what was experienced during the first week or two of the holiday season," added Edwards.

Communities like Chico, Redding, Eureka and Yreka, California, may have some waves of rain, with periods of drier weather in between.

The West Coast has had its fair share of wet weather since late-November.

From Nov. 26 through the first week of December, Los Angeles received 2.65 inches of rain, almost 500 percent of normal for that time frame. On just Dec. 4 alone, the city reported over one inch of rain.

San Francisco received as much rain during the two-week stretch, still over 200 percent of the normal rain for this time of year. By Saturday afternoon, floodwaters in the city had inundated the streets and had even reached homes.

Over 300 flights at San Francisco International Airport were delayed by 5 p.m. PST Saturday, according to FlightAware.

Some areas in Northern California had more than 2 inches of rain just with this latest storm.

Snow blankets the ground in the higher elevations just outside of Palmdale, California on Nov. 28, 2019. (Twitter/@Joe9210)

Meanwhile, feet of snow piled up in the highest mountains of the Sierras. Snow even reached as far south as the Traverse and Peninsular mountain ranges in Southern California.

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