So how cold is it going to get? Meteorologist Tom Dang with the National Weather Service in Sacramento says the storm could bring snow to places that don’t usually get it. 

“It’s definitely possible at this point that the Northern Sacramento Valley, up towards the Redding area, could see some snow showers.” 

Dang says temperatures could drop by as much as 20-degrees below normal in some places. He says a series of cold fronts from the Gulf of Alaska will hit Northern California by tonight, bringing the first significant storm of the season with snow in the mountains and rain in the valley. And Dang says driving in it will be difficult. 

“We could see a fair amount of wind associated with these storms, so visibility will not be good out there.” 

Governor Schwarzenegger has directed the state Office of Emergency Services to prepare for the storm. Lori Newquist is an OES spokeswoman. 

“We have been conducting daily conference calls with the National Weather Service, also various state agencies that will have an involvement with what happens.” 

She says the California National Guard will open 10 armories across the state for emergency shelters. The stormy weather is predicted to continue through early next week.