Rain tonight, cold tomorrow and fair for Thursday.

Short post tonight.  Light rain fills in from north to south tonight.  Likely to see moderate showers across the region for the morning commute.  Clearing possible for afternoon.  Looks like this one will be light here in Santa Cruz.  Good old south facing situation working in our favor.  Up in the local hills, expect a half inch of rain.  Down on the coastal plane and valleys, maybe a quarter inch.  Anyway, good chance of drier air by noon on the west side.  It may linger a bit longer in the central valley and mountains.  As cold air moves in behind the front mid day, snow may begin to fall on the higher local peaks.  Snow levels down to about 3500 feet.  Thursday we should see some sun, and slightly warmer temperatures.  More storms by the weekend, but these look even lighter than tonights.  But take advantage of any sunny breaks we have, as more cold and rain is expected next week and leading up to the holidays.  Snow should be skiing pretty nicely by then.