Here comes the atmospheric river: Bay Area about to get soaked

A strong storm is moving into the Bay Area that is expected to drop several inches of rain before relenting on Monday. In the Sierra Nevada range, several feet of snow is expected to blanket the grounds.

The heavy rainfall forecast from the atmospheric river has led the National Weather Service to issue flash flood watches for some areas that were burned during 2020 wildfires

Although light drizzle could fall on Saturday morning, most parts of the Bay Area are expected to remain dry until Saturday afternoon and evening when the storm kicks in.

There will be moderate and heavy rain for much of Sunday, according to the forecast models.

Stay up to the minute about the forecast by downloading the free KTVU weather app.

A flash flood watch will be in effect for North Bay mountains and valleys from 5 a.m. Sunday to 11 p.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service said.

There is also a flash flood watch for coastal areas of the Peninsula and the Santa Cruz mountains from 1 p.m. Sunday to 11 p.m. Sunday. Late Friday, Santa Cruz County posted debris flow evacuation warning zones. 

A general flood watch will be in effect for the Carquinez Strait and Delta region from 11 p.m. Saturday until 5 p.m. Monday.

Storms this week have led to power outages affecting thousands of PG&E customers in the Bay Area, including a Friday morning disruption knocking out electricity to 1,300 customers around Petaluma and Penngrove.