Freeze warning in effect in Merced

Widespread freeze warnings and watches are in effect in Merced and several other California counties.

The reason is a cold air mass coming down from the north, the National Weather Service says. A freeze warning goes into effect anytime the overnight temperatures dip to between 28 and 32 degrees.

The air coming from Canada is much colder and drier than winds coming off the ocean, said Carlos Molina, a meteorologist with the service’s San Joaquin Valley Weather Forecast Office in Hanford.

Forecasters recommend that homeowners take precautions with their outdoor plants. “It can affect those plants which are usually in pots and temperature sensitive,” Molina said.

Homeowners should consider bringing pets inside, he said, though temperatures are not considered deadly to animals or humans until they reach 27 degrees.

The freeze warning is set to remain in place until at least Monday.

Though the Canadian winds are colder, Molina said, they don’t have the moisture that marine air carries. So the latest storm in the Yosemite National Park area did not bring much snow, he said.

In the last two weeks, a series of storms has dropped 16 inches to 2 feet of snow in the Sierra, he said. Forecasters are expecting a storm from marine air to bring more snow into the area by Thursday.

Molina said drivers should be aware of patchy fog and ice on the roads, and take caution while headed to work in the morning.

Freeze warnings were issued for much of the San Joaquin Valley and interior valleys north of San Francisco Bay.

Freeze watches are in effect from the northern San Joaquin Valley up through the Sacramento Valley.

An advisory for winter-like weather is also in effect for the mountains of Riverside and San Diego counties, with snow levels fluctuating between 3,500 and 4,000 feet.

In the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles, the Bear Mountain and Snow Summit ski resorts report that 1 inch to 2 inches of natural snow fell overnight.

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Freeze warning in effect in Merced."