Weather forecasters said light rain fell across much of Southern California early Thursday, Dec. 9, a preview of a heavy storm coming early next week.
National Weather Service meteorologists said people woke up to cloudy skies and light rain, with more rain expected in the afternoon, while the sky will clear in the evening.
“It’s not one of those things that’s going to stop in the region,” meteorologist Philippe Gonsalves said.
Gonsalves said one-tenth and a quarter of an inch of rain was expected in Orange County and much of the Inland Empire on Thursday, with slightly higher totals in the foothills of the San Bernardino, San Gorgonio and San Jacinto mountains.
In Los Angeles County, a quarter to a half inch of rain was expected in coastal and valley areas, with more in mountainous areas, said Mike Woofford, another NWS meteorologist.
Forecasters said a stronger storm system is on the way, which will bring more than an inch of rain to Southern California from Monday through Wednesday. Most of this rain is likely to happen in the first two days.
Orange County and the Inland Empire foothill areas could see an inch to one-and-a-half inches of rain with more than three inches of rain, Gonsalves said, while Wofford said populated areas of Los Angeles County could see one to three inches of rain. can. Estimated three to five inches in the mountains.
“It’s happening in the winter, the rainy season of the year, so that’s when we start to see the jet stream going down a little bit more, and seeing some of these storms that, earlier, stay to the north.” Were there,” said Wofford. ,
Forecasters said three to four inches of snow would cover mountain areas above 6,000 feet. Gonsalves said CalTrans and the California Highway Patrol will require chains on some highways. Snowfall can reach 4,000 feet during the coldest predicted temperatures Wednesday morning.
The storm should help Southern California after a slow start to the rainy season, which began on October 1 and has seen less than half of normal rain so far.
“We’re starting to get a little dryer than normal, but next week (the storm) we should be getting above normal for at least a little while,” Wofford said.
Even so, rain won’t do much to cut down on overall drought conditions.
“We’re seeing years of below-normal rainfall,” Gonsalves said. “Some events in the early part of a rainy season really don’t have much effect on a long-term drought.”
Flooding and debris flows were possible in some of the burned areas, Wofford said, adding that residents of those areas should keep an eye out.
