Soggy weather in the Bay Area to stretch past Christmas weekend

Wet weather is expected to remain in the Bay Area through the Christmas holiday weekend and into next week, but not in amounts likely to cause heavy flooding, the National Weather Service said Thursday.

There is a slight chance of thunderstorms in the region Thursday afternoon and evening along with wind gusts of up to 30 to 40 mph, then only scattered showers in the forecast for most of Friday. However, more moderate levels of rain are likely on Friday night into Saturday morning, according to the weather service.

The rainy weather is expected to continue through at least Wednesday of next week, with 1-2 inches of rainfall forecast for most of the Bay Area and up to 3-4 inches in parts of Monterey County like Big Sur through that period.

The weather service is not forecasting the rain to cause major debris flows or flooding, but said there is the potential for minor flooding or debris ending up in low-lying or poor drainage areas.

The stormy weather has already caused some disruptions this week, including fallen rocks that blocked part of state Highway 1 in Monterey County and a downed tree that blocked all of northbound state Highway 13 in Oakland.