When is rain returning to Merced? ‘Fairly wet system’ is on the way, forecaster says
More rain showers are coming to Merced as two storm systems sweep through California, according to the National Weather Service.
The initial storm will mostly affect the southern coast of California, including Monterey and areas around Los Angeles, said Emily Wilson, a meteorologist with the weather service.
“It’s not going to be super big for the Valley,” Wilson said. “It’s mostly just going to skate by.”
However, a second storm system will bring showers and gusty winds to the Merced area next week, the weather service said.
There’s “moderate to high probability” of “strong wind gusts more then 35 mph across much of the elevated terrain in Central California,” the agency said in an X post. “Some of these stronger winds have the potential to extend into the west and north San Joaquin Valley.”
Merced last saw measurable rainfall on Wednesday, March 5, when nearly three-quarters of an inch of rain fell in the Central Valley city, the weather service said.
Here’s what to expect:
What’s in the weather forecast for Merced?
Friday was expected to be sunny, with a high temperature near 63 degrees and wind gusts as high as 15 mph, according to the weather service’s latest seven day forecast.
The weather service predicted a low temperature around 36 degrees on Friday night.
Saturday will also be sunny, with a high near 67 and an overnight low of 39.
“We’re going to see it warming up again about the 70s,” Wilson said.
The sun will still be out on Sunday, when the high will reach 73 and the low will drop to around 42.
When will rain start?
Although Monday will be partly sunny during the day, with a high near 67, showers are expected to start Monday night, the weather service said. The low will be around 45.
There is a 20% chance of rain before 4 a.m Tuesday, according to the weather service.
Tuesday has a 20% chance of rain after 10 a.m., the weather service said. Otherwise the day will be partly sunny, with a high near 67 and a low around 47.
Tuesday night has a 60% chance of precipitation.
“The real system that’s going to be affecting our area ... (is) going to be coming through on Wednesday into Thursday,” Wilson said.
“It’s going to be a fairly wet system, just according to what our models have right now.”
That’s when “Merced will start to cool down,” she explained, adding that the dip in temperatures will be “pretty dramatic.”
On Wednesday, there’s an 80% chance of precipitation with a quarter- to a half-inch of rain possible. The high will be near 61 and the low will be around 43, with wind gusts as high as 25 mph.
“We may see close to three quarters of an inch as the system moves across,” Wilson said.
More rain and gusty winds are expected on Thursday, when there’s an 80% chance of precipitation with a 10th to a quarter-inch of rainfall expected.
Will it snow in Sierra Nevada?
“The mountains might see a little bit of extra snow, like a tiny bit of dusting, but it’s going to be real minimal on Monday and into Tuesday,” Wilson said.
According to weather service models, it was too early to tell how much snow could fall in parts of the Sierra Nevada later in the week.
This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 1:13 PM.
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