San Francisco caught in the cross hairs of a relentless storm pattern lasting to mid-April

By Brigid Gaffikin, Bay City News Service

April 2, 2006

Last month's relentless rain will continue into April, with storms expected to hit the Bay Area Monday morning and then again Thursday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

The first storm system to move through the area will arrive Sunday, when some rain is forecast.

Thunderstorms are possible beginning Monday and numerous showers and isolated thunderstorms will continue in the region through Tuesday, according to the weather service.

Tuesday may also see hail and strong, gusty winds.

A second early spring storm is expected to bring more rain to the Bay Area from Thursday night through Friday morning, the weather service reports.

The storms are a product of a persistent weather pattern that is "just not shifting or breaking down," according to Brooke Bingaman, a weather service meteorologist.

Many stable weather patterns -- whether they bring inclement or sunny weather -- can stick around from a week to 14 days, Bingaman said.

To have a stable weather pattern persist for more than a month is "pretty unusual," she said.

But it seems likely this bout of rainy weather will stick around "at least through the middle of April," she said.

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