3 p.m. Update: The rain and snow have moved on through Modesto and the Northern San Joaquin Valley, so can things get any worse? How does an overnight low temperature of 27 degrees strike you?
The National Weather Service expects a hard frost overnight, the worst of it stretching from 4 a.m. until 10 a.m. There will be a bit of a breeze on top of that -- in the 3 mph to 7 mph range -- to make it feel even colder if you venture outside.
Up in the Sierra foothills in Sierra County, there could be a bit more snow before 10 o'clock tonight but nothing serious is expected. That's the good news.
The bad? In Sonora the overnight low is expected to be 23 degrees.
But those are amateur numbers. If you really want a full dose of winter, try Yosemite Valley. The weather service expects another 2 to 3 inches of snow at the park overnight, with a low temperature of a mere 9 degrees.
12:05 p.m. Update: Just how bad is it getting in Tuolumne County?
The California Highway Patrol, which has doubled its staff and is inundated with snow-related traffic calls, is asking anyone in the area to refrain from traveling the roads tonight. Temperatures are supposed to be in the 20s.
"This county is going to turn into an ice rink tonight," said Michael Remmel, officer and public information officer for the California Highway Patrol's Sonora office.
The CHP is doing chain controls at Highway 108 at La Grange Road, 10 miles west of Jamestown and 22 miles east of Oakdale.
"It's been five or six years since we've had chain controls this low," he said. "And definitely not in December. The last time it was a February snowstorm."
Chain controls are usually done in Jamestown, he said, about 500 feet higher in elevation.
11:42 a.m. Update: A big rig that jack-knifed in the snow at Highway 108/120 and La Grange Road stopped traffic on Highway 108, according to the California Highway Patrol.
There was a long stream of traffic heading up the hill east of Oakdale that was at a standstill, according to two travelers. The big rig, apparently, has been moved.
Snow has blanketed the county, with the south shore of Tulloch Reservoir and beyond covered with snow.
11:24 a.m. Update: The rain and snow that pelted the Modesto area is on its way out, and will give way to freezing temperatures tonight, according to the National Weather Service.
"It should be clearing out any time now," national weather service meteorologist Angus Barkhoff said.
He predicted a partly cloudy sky with a high of 44 degrees today. However, temperatures should fall into the mid 20s tonight, and tomorrow should bring a sunny sky with a high of 46, Barkhoff said.
He said the reports of snow in Modesto, with little or no accumulation, was typical of what he's hear from cities and towns throughout the floor of the San Joaquin Valley.
He said the traces of snow that fell in Modesto was typical of what he's heard from other people on the floor of the San Joaquin Valley.
11 a.m. Update: Modesto police responded this morning to a three-car crash near the intersection of Bodem Street and Scenic Drive.
Four people were transported to area hospitals with nonlife-threatening injuries, according to Dan Hinshaw, battalion chief with the Modesto Fire Department.
He said at about 10 a.m., a woman driving a van west on Scenic just past the cemetery lost control of her car and skidded sideways into the eastbound lane, where it was broadsided by an oncoming car. Another car then became involved.
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