Remember Rain? Slight Chance Forecast for Wednesday

by Charles Burress

The National Weather Service offered a thin ray of hope for the parched Bay Area – a "slight chance" of rain on Wednesday.

"The big weather story (well, big in recent times) is the possibility for rain beginning as early as Thursday across much of the region," the agency said. The precipitation could continue into Friday morning.

The forecast, the weather service cautioned, is "very low confidence."

But there's still room for optimism, the meteorologists said.

"Confidence is growing that at least some of the area will see rain during this time frame," the agency said.

Much depends on the interaction of an "upper low" and an "upper trough" around the Gulf of Alaska, the weather service said.

"An upper low is forecast to close off Wednesday from the upper trough along the Gulf of Alaska and move east toward the SF Bay through Thursday into Friday," according to the forecast. "This will bring a slight chance for rain Thursday into at least Friday morning."

The Weather Channel projected that the rain may come to Newark soon as Wednesday, with highs in the low 60s and a low in the 40s. 

Daytime temperatures are expected to remain well above normal for late January until then, the agency said.