Rainy weekend could put damper on Big Game

Cardinal and Golden Bears football fans should think about water-proofing their school spirit with rain ponchos as weather forecasters predicted a rainstorm to roll into the Bay Area in time for the Big Game in Berkeley.

Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties started seeing rain around midnight Saturday, and by noon more than two inches had fallen in the North Bay hills. San Francisco, Berkeley and the Peninsula had seen as much as a quarter of inch of rain, according to the National Weather Service.

“It’s just your average run-of-a-mill winter type storm from the gulf of Alaska. Bring your rain ponchos,” said Steve Anderson, a forecaster with the weather service. “It’s going to get wet.”

A woman carries an umbrella as she crosses Powell Street n San Francisco, Thursday, March 3, 2016. Light rain has started in the San Francisco Bay Area as the region braces for a series of storms expected this weekend and into next week. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) less A woman carries an umbrella as she crosses Powell Street n San Francisco, Thursday, March 3, 2016. Light rain has started in the San Francisco Bay Area as the region braces for a series of storms expected this ... more Photo: Jeff Chiu, AP Photo: Jeff Chiu, AP Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Rainy weekend could put damper on Big Game 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

The rain will reach its peak on Saturday and will likely be steady when Stanford and UC Berkeley kickoff the Big Game at 2:30 p.m. The rain is forecast to continue on Sunday before a brief reprieve Monday and Tuesday.

“There’s another chance of light rain on Wednesday,” Anderson said.

Wind gusts are expected to reach 20 to 30 mph. Temperatures throughout the Bay Area will linger in the mid-60s for the weekend and drop to 45 degrees at night.

People heading to Lake Tahoe are in for a snowy weekend with one to two feet of snow expected through Monday. Some ski resorts are opening their slopes on Friday.

Chains will be required for drivers taking Highway 50 and Interstate 80 to the Lake Tahoe area.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani