Rain arrives just in time for trick-or-treating

It was a dark and stormy night on Friday, but that should come as no surprise. After all, it was Halloween and a storm system was moving into the area.

A winter weather watch was issued Friday for the Sierra Nevada as the first major storm of the season headed toward Central California. Rain was expected to hit late Friday afternoon, forcing trick-or-treaters to prepare for a ghoulishly wet time.

The forecast called for the rain to pick up throughout Friday night and into today, with as much as 0.75 inches possible for the Valley. Forecasters were looking for snow to start falling around 5,000 feet elevation, with possibly as much as 10 inches accumulating at higher elevations.

The high in Merced on Friday was 73 degrees, but it was forecast to drop into the mid-40s overnight.

Today, the high is expected to be in the mid-60s, with lows dipping into the 40s. Forecasters said Sunday and Monday are likely to remain cold, with the highs staying in the mid-60s and the lows falling into the upper 30s. Temperatures probably won’t creep back into the 70s until Tuesday.

As the storm system moves out of the area today, rain and snow should taper off.

Areas of fog are forecast Sunday night into Monday morning in some parts of the Valley, according to the National Weather Service. Fog could re-form Monday night into Tuesday morning as well, forecasters said.

This story was originally published October 31, 2014 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Rain arrives just in time for trick-or-treating."