A new winter storm bearing down on Central California will make travel in the Sierra hazardous and unadvisable, especially on Saturday morning, and could dampen Easter family gatherings held outdoors.

National Weather Service forecaster Andy Bollenbacher said Friday morning that a new cold front arriving Friday will bring as much as a half-inch of rain to the Valley and two to three feet of snow to the Sierra, with snow levels starting at 5,000 feet.

The worst part of the winter storm will hit Saturday morning and will make travel in the Sierra extremely dangerous, Bollenbacher said.

“So we’re definitely not encouraging travel just because it could be very difficult, especially if you were to get stranded in a car in a very snowy roadway,” he said.

If you absolutely must travel into the Sierra, be sure to bring along food, water, fuel, and winter clothing in case you get stranded, Bollenbacher said.

Thunderstorms in Valley

The Valley’s storm will include the potential for thunderstorms that could bring lightning strikes and hail, and even funnel clouds, he said. Areas with thunderstorms will have localized areas of heavy rain, he said.

“It seems to be something that happens when we have these upper systems come through, these upper lows, that’ll sometimes enhance the potential for a funnel cloud or two,” Bollenbacher said. “That can’t be ruled out as well. So we’ll be looking at that situation, as things unfold. We’re definitely monitoring the potential of the weekend.”

Easter Sunday will be cool and cloudy, with high temperatures in the 60s in the Fresno area.

By midweek Fresno’s daily highs will be slightly above normal, reaching the mid-70s by midweek, but forecasters are keeping their eye on the first weekend of April when another storm system could be on the horizon, he said.