Rain may hit Southland as early as Tuesday night, part of region under flood watch
Residents in Southern California may again want to have umbrellas handy as more rain was set to hit Tuesday night into Wednesday, forecasters with the National Weather Service said.
This storm wasn’t expected to be as intense or cause road closures through the Grapevine or the Cajon Pass like last week’s, said Tom Fisher, a meteorologist with the NWS’s Oxnard office.
Instead, the lighter storm will bring between three-quarters of an inch and one inch of rain in most areas of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, while mountain areas may see up to two inches between Tuesday and Wednesday nights, forecasters said.
Snow might fall at 7,000 feet and above in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains and the ski resort areas in San Bernardino County. Last week, snow fell as low as about the 2,000-foot level, Fisher said.
This storm was being driven by low pressure coming from the south and the west, said Adam Roser, a meteorologist with the San Diego office.
“It’s not as cold as the last system, but it’s definitely still a winter chill,” Roser said.
Rain could begin falling as early as 8 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Fisher said. The heaviest rain will likely fall Wednesday morning and may stretch into the morning commute, Fisher said.
Most of the rain should clear out by noon Wednesday, though there was a possibility for afternoon showers.
“This will be a fairly quick one,” Fisher said.
High temperatures through most of Orange and Riverside counties will hover in the low 60s on Wednesday, with some mountain areas hitting the mid-30s.
The same was forecast for Los Angeles County, with Los Angeles and Long Beach looking at highs of 60 degrees, while Pasadena and Woodland Hills were projected to have highs of 59 degrees, Fisher said.
The temperatures would be about 10 degrees below normal for this time of year, Fisher said. Temperatures were forecasted to be five degrees below normal for the remainder of the week.
The storm was the first of two expected in the Southland this week, with the second on track to hit possibly Friday, Fisher said, though it was too early to tell how much rain to expect or when exactly it would hit.
The weather service announced a flood watch across areas of Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
“Areas most at risk include urban roads prone to flooding, areas with poor drainage and the mountain slopes where the rain amounts will be the highest,” the weather service said. “Mud slides and debris flows are possible in the mountains and near burn areas.”
Flood warnings were given to the follow cities:
- Riverside
- San Bernardino
- Ontario
- Moreno Valley
- Fontana
- Rancho Cucamonga
- Corona
- Big Bear
- Idyllwild-Pine Cove
- Huntington Beach
- Costa Mesa
- Newport Beach
- Laguna Beach
- Santa Ana
- Anaheim
- Garden Grove
- Irvine
- Orange
- Fullerton
- Mission Viejo