First rainfall of December finally arrives in the Bay Area

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Bay Area is seeing its first rain of December.

In the 24 hours between Friday to early Saturday morning, San Jose picked up a quarter inch of rain, San Francisco had half an inch, while La Honda in southern San Mateo County, recorded more than an inch of rain fell.

KTVU meteorologist Rosemary Orozco says there may be a few lingering showers from this first system, but will mostly be gone by late morning.

Orozco is tracking the second system, which she is forecasting to arrive early Sunday.

This precipitation is welcome news to a region that has not seen significant rainfall in months.

The National Weather Service of San Francisco says the weekend rainfall is a nice, measurable amount, but not excessive.

"It's looking just right," said Brayden Murdock of the National Weather Service San Francisco.

The region will need much more rainfall to catch up to normal times.

Since October, some parts of the Bay Area are at 10% of normal.

But Murdock cautioned, that too much rain at once, could cause severe flooding and make roads treacherous to drive.

Coastal ranges favorable to southwest winds will get higher amounts of precipitation, while amounts will be more subdued in the Santa Clara and Salinas valleys.

Light rain is possible during the day on Saturday, but most populated areas will remain dry.

Rain will return late Saturday night and move across the Bay Area Sunday, with  light rain possible as late as Sunday night.

KIng Tides are also expected on Sunday. The highest tides could bring some localized flooding.

Meteorologists warn that the lowest of King Tides on Sunday afternoon, will still create the risk of sneaker waves that reach 3 to 6 feet high.

West-northwest waves are expected at Bay Area beaches Sunday and by Monday morning, could reach 16 to 20 feet.

The large waves along with the highest of King Tides Monday morning, will raise coastal flooding concerns.