UPDATE: Winter Storm Packing Rain, Storm, Strong Winds

SACRAMENTO (CBS13/AP) — State surveyors who measured California's paltry Sierra Nevada snowpack on Tuesday might have fared better had they waited another day.

A winter storm carrying the prospect of up to 5 feet of snow for the Northern Sierra was expected to hit late Tuesday night and last through Wednesday, putting state road crews on alert while brightening the state's water outlook heading into spring. The first snow flakes starting falling in the Sierra by about 10 p.m. Tuesday.

"After tonight, you probably don't want to travel in the Sierra until Thursday," said George Cline, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.

In Sacramento area, the rain was expected to start falling late Tuesday and winds will begin picking up to 20-25 mph, with gusts up to 40 mph. The wet weather is expected to continue into Thursday morning before tapering off in the afternoon.

A winter storm warning is now in effect from 10 p.m. Tuesday to 4 p.m. Thursday for the west slopes of the northern Sierra
Nevada, western Plumas County and the Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Snow accumulations should be 6 to 12 inches above 3,000 feet 6 to 12 inches and 2 to 4 feet above 5,500 feet.

State surveyors from the Department of Water Resources measured the Sierra snowpack on Tuesday and found it just 30 percent of normal.

The Northern California storm could ease fears among the 29 agencies that depend on snowmelt delivered through the State Water Project that already are bracing for meager allocations. Some farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley have been told to expect just half of the water they requested for the spring and summer growing seasons.

The forecast calls for snow in both the Sierra and Coast mountain ranges with the biggest wallop coming above 6,500 feet, where accumulation could be between two and four feet, and up to five feet at the highest elevations.

The cold front sweeping down from the Gulf of Alaska will also bring gusts up to 110 mph along the Sierra crests, and 60 to 70 mph "where people are," Cline said. Snow levels could drop to 2,000 feet.

"It's going to be pretty miserable through tomorrow," he said.