Rain and wind forecast to give way to fog this week

The central San Joaquin Valley, foothills and mountain areas were hit with rain and snow over the weekend, and more rain was expected Monday before giving way to spotty showers and fog.

As of Sunday afternoon, Merced had accumulated nearly 0.7 inches of rain during the previous 72 hours, according to the National Weather Service.

Wind gusts of up to 36 mph were reported on Sunday, and the weather service issued a wind advisory for much of the valley through Sunday evening.

In the foothills, there were multiple reports of rock slides and debris on Sunday. Highway 140 near Yaqui Gulch Road in Mariposa County was impeded by a downed tree, according to California Highway Patrol logs. At Highway 198 and Mineral King Road, a boulder was reported to be blocking half the roadway in the morning.

Across Highway 168 and Flintridge on the way to China Peak, snow crossed both lanes. A hard closure was in effect as of 11 a.m. for Highway 198 southwest of Coalinga for a rock slide across both lanes of the highway.

A winter storm warning will continue until 10 a.m. Monday for the Sierra Nevada, where the intense storm will bring lots of snow and high winds causing reduced visibility, the weather service said. Power outages are likely. Snow levels were expected to start out at 4,000 feet, then rise to 6,000 feet and drop to 3,000 feet by Monday morning.

For Monday, a 70 percent chance of showers was forecast, with the likelihood dropping to 30 percent for Tuesday, the weather service said. Patchy fog was expected for Tuesday night and Wednesday, becoming thicker Wednesday night.

Temperatures in the low- to mid 50s were expected for the rest of the week, the weather service said.

This story was originally published January 22, 2017 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Rain and wind forecast to give way to fog this week."