The Bay Area’s sunny Christmas weekend is coming to a climactic end, just in time to safely deflate your ornamental Santa. On Monday night through Tuesday, a powerful atmospheric river Storm heading in from Guam in the western Pacific Ocean will drench the region and shake loose holiday decorations with blustery winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour in some spots.

The downpour is forecast to start Monday evening in the North Bay and progress southward overnight. Rainfall is expected to ease up by Tuesday afternoon after soaking the Sonoma and Santa Cruz coastal mountain ranges with up to five inches of rain. Lower regions in San Jose, San Francisco, and the East Bay could see one to two inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Look out for localized flooding and road closures, the weather service warns, especially on Tuesday morning’s commute.

The other big attraction with this powerful storm: howling winds.

“We can expect wind gusts, especially on the coast and the coastal ranges,” said Brian Garcia, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s San Francisco Bay Area office. “It will definitely be breezy enough to blow around those inflatable Santas in people’s yards.”

After the initial storm system, the Bay Area will remain damp into New Year’s eve as an “unsettled” weather pattern brings scattered daily showers nearly every day.

“Models are suggesting that the next break from rain will not be until after most people have stopped singing Auld Lang Syne,” the weather service said in a Sunday morning update, referring to the 18th-century Scottish melody often sung at the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31.

Today: Merry Warm

Tomorrow Night: Rain in the North Bay

Tuesday: Moderate to Heavy Rain

Here's a look at the updated forecast total rain for the entire event through Tuesday Night#CAwx #CArain pic.twitter.com/RiM3I605cm

— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) December 25, 2022

The weather pattern, often termed a “Pineapple Express,” developed in the western Pacific Ocean near Guam, meaning the wet weather and winds will not bring freezing temperatures to the Bay Area, with highs largely in the upper 50s and lows in the 40s.

While the Bay Area saw a mild Christmas weekend, the majority of the country is still digging itself out from a massive winter storm that saw subzero temperatures, and white-out conditions, and has killed at least 29 people across the United States.

The biggest impact for Californians was the arctic blast snarling air travel – especially in Denver and Chicago – and causing a flood of flight delays throughout the country. In the Bay Area, the three major airports saw hundreds of flights canceled as travelers scrambled to repair holiday plans. Some people were stranded for hours at the airport and others chose to drive across state lines rather than spend Christmas at home alone.

Airport woes continued on Christmas day, typically one of the easier days to travel, with nearly 40% of flights at San Jose Mineta International Airport delayed and delays at Oakland International Airport averaging over 50 minutes, according to Flight Aware.

This week’s storm brings much needed precipitation, however, to California’s drought and snow seekers in Lake Tahoe.

The upper Sierra Nevada will see multiple rounds of snow into next weekend totaling nearly three feet. The first batch of powder will drop on Monday evening at upwards of 7,500 feet of elevation, and as the week progressively gets colder snow levels will fall to between 4,500 and 5,500 feet.

California’s snowpack, which provides roughly one-third of the state’s drinking water, is already off to a healthy start after two storms earlier in December dropped several feet of snow. Now all three regions of the Sierra range are reporting abundant snow levels, with an average of 150% of normal for this time of year. Water experts have cautioned, however, that last year’s major winter storms in December preceded a string of exceptionally dry months.

Currently, 81% of California is experiencing severe drought, and parts of the San Joaquin Valley are in an exceptional drought, the worst of five categories, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly federal report.

This week’s atmospheric river will pose a different kind of challenge: Along with the snow, skiers could see wind gusts of 65 to 85 mph on mountain peaks and drivers heading into Lake Tahoe will also see strong winds.

“We’re definitely encouraging people to have their heads up, especially if they’re planning on traveling,” said Katrina Hand, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office.

Staff Writer Paul Rogers and the Associated Press contributed to this story.