201912.02
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More rain coming to Southern California this week, along with some snow in mountains

by in News

More rain, along with some snow in the high mountains, are coming to Southern California starting late Tuesday night through Wednesday.

The storm is expected to bring the region between a half-inch to 2 inches of rain in the coastal and valley areas, with some snowfall starting at 6,000-foot altitudes, according to the National Weather Service.

This storm won’t be nearly as intense as last week’s, which brought multiple road closures due to the heavy snow and rain.

“This week’s storm is not expected to be as cold and the duration of the rain is expected to be shorter,” said Casey Oswant, a National Weather Service meteorologist. “We’re expecting most of the rain to impact the area from Wednesday morning to early afternoon on Wednesday.”

Some light showers could linger later in the day into Thursday, she said, but any rain at that point isn’t expected to be substantial.

The mountains in San Bernardino could see about 3 inches of rain, with gusty winds of up to 50 mph, according to Oswant. The snow will most likely impact the mountain peaks and resort areas, she said.

In the Los Angeles mountains, snow will also likely only impact the resort and peak areas.

That means there shouldn’t be any road closures, in areas such as the 5 Freeway at the Grapevine, said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

After last week’s storm, the rainfall for the area was above average but this week’s storm will put it even higher, Wofford said. The boost already put Southern California at above-normal precipitation levels, compared to Northern California which was below-normal, he added.

For example, the average precipitation in downtown Los Angeles at this time of year is 1.75 inches, but last week’s storm put it at 2.12 inches, Wofford said. The storm this week will probably add at least another inch, he added.