The new year started on anything but a dry note in Southern California, with showers drenching much of the region — and more is on the way.
Scattered showers dampened the Southland over the holiday weekend and into this week, and additional downpours are expected to continue into the weekend, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Adams.
By Wednesday morning, a small storm system that arrived Monday will begin moving out of the region, making way for another system set to bring even heavier showers and strong winds by the evening.
Over the Inland Empire and Orange County, up to a quarter inch of rainfall is expected in the mountain communities and about a tenth of an inch of rain heading towards the coastline, Adams said. Temperatures will be somewhere in the upper 50s to low 60s, with wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
It will also get windy late in the evening on Wednesday in the desert and mountain communities with gusts possibly around 40 to 50 mph.
Thursday will likely see the heaviest rainfall, with weather experts predicting up to an inch and a half of rainfall along the coast and, heading inland, around two to three inches of rainfall in the Riverside and Santa Ana mountains, and possibly up to four inches in the San Bernardino Mountains.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles County, rainfall levels on Thursday could reach about two to four inches, and up to four to eight inches in the mountain and foothill communities.
A flood watch advisory will be in effect early Thursday through the afternoon for foothill, mountain and valley communities across the region. Meteorologists warned residents that the storm system could result in downed trees and power outages, with flooding possible along the coast and in the foothills and mountains. If sandbags are needed to protect property, residents and business owners can check with their city or county to see if it provides them.
Powerful Pacific storm will affect SW CA Wed-Thu with heavy rain, damaging winds, flooding, and dangerous surf. Downed trees and power outages likely. Hazardous to dangerous travel conditions Wed night-Thu morning. #cawx #LAWeather #SoCal pic.twitter.com/m8CuGpEeiv
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 3, 2023
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The wet start to the new year was much needed for the region as California continues to combat its drought, which had impacted nearly the whole state as of last September.
California’s Sierra’s were expected to close in on its second-largest snowpack in two decades, and the Southland was looking to see similar higher-than-normal returns of rainfall this winter, Adams said, outpacing the usual rainfall by about 125 to 150 percent. For example, from Oct. 1 to Jan. 3, the Ontario Airport typically sees about 3.29 inches of rain. This season, it was at about 4.06 inches.
While this is a welcomed trend, Adams said a similar increase observed last year ended with rainfall levels below normal.
The storm system will begin to taper off around Friday afternoon, reducing rain chances and allowing for temperatures to warm up slightly for the weekend, Adams said. However, some light showers could return again on Saturday and continue into next week.
Source: Orange County Register
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