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First measurable April rain on the way

April has been dry so far, but that's changing
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April has been dry month so far.

We've had a few showers roll through, but Bakersfield has yet to pick up any measurable rain, with officially only a trace recorded at Meadows Field for the month.

That looks to change though!

Our most promising chance for actual rain this month is rolling in Thursday into Friday behind a cold front.

The front will bring several changes to our weather.

Winds will pick up Thursday, with breezy conditions county wide.

Temperatures will drop too, with highs in the lower 70s in the Valley Thursday and all the way down into the mid 60s by Friday.

Of course, the rain is the big story.

Scattered showers are possible in Kern County starting Thursday afternoon, but most of our rain will fall Thursday evening into early Friday.

This looks like a good, beneficial rain for most of us.

Valley rain totals will likely be between about a tenth to a third of an inch, with some higher totals in the foothills and along the west facing slopes of our local mountains.

In those spots with a bit more rain, totals could exceed half an inch.

Totals will be lighter on the west side of the Valley, with little to no rain expected in the desert.

We'll see some snow from this storm, too.

Snow levels will dip as low as 4,000 feet by early Monday, which means we could see some snowflakes over the Grapevine or Tehachapi pass, but little to no accumulation is expected, and travel impacts should be minimal.

Higher elevations will see plenty of snow though, above 6,000 feet could see over half a foot of snow!

Away from Kern County, this system looks to bring heavy snow to the Sierra Nevada to our north, with areas above 5,000 feet in line for a foot or more of snow.