Southern California commuters likely to slog through storms on Monday

Some parts of Southern California have received more than an inch of rain during the first significant storms of 2024, which are expected to continue across the region during Monday morning’s commute and later Monday.

Meteorologists also anticipate the day could bring thunderstorms and possible flooding, with a flood watch from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in place across the Inland Empire and Orange County areas.

Here’s a look at the rain totals we’ve had so far and how much more we can expect. Observed: https://t.co/UAtQmHTkpx

Perhaps once our mountain friends wake up we can get some snow reports *hint hint*

Forecast for the rest of the stormpic.twitter.com/JKJVEn05Ur

— NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) January 21, 2024

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Several troughs of low pressure have been sweeping across the region over a roughly three-day period, producing rain and thunderstorms, the National Weather Service said.

“Preliminary rainfall totals through the duration of this event look to be a broad swath of 1-2 inches across the coasts and inland valleys, 2-4 inches across the mountains and roughly .25-1 inch across the deserts,” said a NWS statement.

Forecasters said any major snowfall will be above 7,000 feet during most of the storm series although temperatures may come down enough “for snow to fall down to as low as 5,500-6,000 feet, though any accumulations would be very light and confined to grassy surfaces.”

Highways through the San Bernardino National Forest, including state Route 243 through Idyllwild-Pine-Cove, were expected to remain passable.

Prognostication charts published by the NWS indicated the highest likelihood of thunderstorms is Monday morning and afternoon as the tail end of the last trough from the storm series trundles eastward.

The weather will start to clear Monday night, followed by mostly sunny and drier conditions going into midweek.

In the Riverside metropolitan area and Temecula Valley, the highs will generally hold in the low 60s for the weekend, with overnight lows in the low 50s.

Rain is expected to continue in San Bernardino County throughout Sunday, with Rialto having seen some of the heaviest rainfall in the area, coming in at 0.75 inches as of Sunday morning. There is a chance of heavier rainfall and thunderstorms on Monday, with highs ranging between 57 to 62 degrees over the next two days.

Heading south to Orange County, the rainfall is expected to be heaviest in the early morning Monday, said NWS meteorologist Adam Roser.

“We had about three fourths of an inch of rain over the weekend, which was quite beneficial rainfall over the region,” Roser said. “The rain will really come down hard in the morning, and the morning commutes will be definitely be affected.”

Around a half inch of rain is expected to fall on Monday, with about 2 inches dropping in the foothill areas. Temperatures will hang in the low 60s.

Los Angeles County will also feel the morning rain, with similar rainfall levels of around 0.75 inches on Monday, said NWS meteorologist Carol Smith.

Staff writers Mona Darwish and Hunter Lee contributed to this report.

Source: Orange County Register