Storm expected to bring rain to Valley

More rain and blustery weather will move into Merced County on Thursday, as a storm system coming in from the Pacific arrives, the National Weather Service said.

This system was expected to bring widespread precipitation and gusty winds to the inland areas of Central California. Rain was forecast for areas stretching from Los Banos to Yosemite by early Thursday and spread south throughout the day, the weather service reported.

Areas of the southern Sierra Nevada range may see periods of moderate to heavy rain and snow from late Thursday morning into the evening. Snow levels were expected to begin about 7,000 feet around Yosemite, fall to 5,000 feet in the afternoon and bottom out around 4,000 feet Thursday night.

A 24-hour winter storm warning was set to take effect for the southern Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Kings Canyon at 7 a.m. Thursday.

As of Wednesday, stations in the Central Sierra region reported an average snow-water equivalent of 3.4 inches, or 52 percent of normal levels for the date, according to the California Department of Water Resources. Stations in the Southern Sierra region reported an average snow-water equivalent of 2.6 inches, or 56 percent of normal.

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Storm expected to bring rain to Valley."