This week, the first of the storm waves expected to bring significant rainfall to Southern California arrived overnight.
“We’re arriving in Southern California, so we’re tracking the rain. The first part of this storm system is a mass of moisture before the main storm. It’s moving relatively quickly,” says KTLA’s Kirk Hawkins said Wednesday morning.
KTLA’s live radar showed light showers had already fallen in several areas, including villages in Santa Barbara, Long Beach, Oxnard and Westlake at around 4:45am
The storm on Wednesday is relatively mild, and is expected to bring about less than about 30 inches of rain to most of the region, but a much stronger system will continue on Thursday.
“We are seeing the arrival of a very important storm system with very destructive potential in some of the burned areas. We see the dangers of heavy rainfall, significant rainfall rates and debris flow. I managed to do that,” Kirk said.
California weather radar
The National Weather Service (NWS) called for “higher risk of burning flood and scar debris flows” as the storm pushed forward on Thursday.
The total rainfall in the Los Angeles area is expected to jump 1.5-3 inches and fall into mountains up to 6 inches.
(National Weather Service)
NWS meteorologist Ariel Cohen described the rain as a “ruptured type of pattern” with heavy rainfall rates. According to the NWS, peak rain rates on Thursday could reach an hour from 0.5 inches on Thursday.
Forecasters also seek a 10-20% chance of a thunderstorm on Thursday, potentially causing widespread road flooding.
According to the NWS, the heaviest shower timing is from noon Thursday until 6am Friday.
(National Weather Service)
Snow levels begin as low as 6,000 feet on Wednesday, “below dust,” and rise above 8,000 feet on Thursday, with a slightly warmer system arriving. “These resort-level areas can see up to 20 inches of new snow,” the NWS said.
Snow levels could return to the 6,000-foot mark in the wake of a storm.
The rain will be a light shower on Friday, with the trend of warming and dryness beginning over the weekend, extending through next week.
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