The National Weather Service (NWS) today warned of a “potent” fast-moving storm expected to hit the Southland.
The storm is expected to bring a period of moderate to occasionally heavy rain lasting three to five hours, followed by scattered showers, an NWS statement said.
The rain is expected to start on the Central Coast by mid-morning today, then reach the Los Angeles basin during the mid to late afternoon hours, turning to showers mid-evening, NWS said. The showers will end by late tonight.
Also expected this afternoon and evening are gusty winds, especially in the San Gabriel Mountains and the Antelope Valley, according to the NWS.
Additionally, there is a slight chance of waterspouts and thunderstorms, which could unleash small hail.
There could be enough rain to trigger mud and debris flows over slopes previously denuded by wildfire, especially if thunderstorms develop, the statement said.
Rainfall totals are expected to average a half-inch to 1.5 inch, with the higher amounts expected in the Central Coast. In the Antelope Valley, a quarter-inch to a half-inch is expected.
The snow level will start out high but fall to between 5,000 and 5,500 feet this evening and later, to 4,500 feet, according to the NWS. It said there is a slight chance that snow could fall on portions of Interstate 5 near The Grapevine.
Between four and eight inches of snow are expected above 6,000 feet, NWS forecasters said.
The NWS forecast more mild, above-average temperatures today, followed by a sharp cooldown. It said skies would be partly cloudy in Los Angeles County today, sunny in Orange County, and that highs should reach 67 degrees in Newport Beach, San Clemente, and Laguna Beach; 68 in Avalon; 69 at LAX; 72 in Long Beach and on Mount Wilson; 73 in Irvine; 74 in Anaheim; 75 in downtown L.A., Palmdale and Fullerton; 76 in San Gabriel; 77 in Mission Viejo, Saugus, Lancaster and Burbank; 78 in Pasadena and Woodland Hills; and 79 in Yorba Linda.
Today’s highs will be up to 13 degrees lower in some communities.
Even though Southern California hasn’t gotten the drought-busting rainy windfall some might have expected from El Nino, scientists are still holding out hope for the next several weeks. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) this week reported that more rain is expected to arrive this month.
“Traditionally, Southern California gets its downpours from El Nino later, in the spring,” said Martin Hoerling, a NOAA research scientist. “The odds of being very wet double, so the absence of lots of rain in the region shouldn’t be overly alarming. There’s still another eight weeks to go.”
Hoerling said that, although this year’s El Nino has not measured up locally to past big ones when it comes to rain and snow, so far the precipitation in Northern California is on schedule. He said each El Nino is different, and “while it shifts the odds (in favor of rain) it doesn’t necessarily guarantee an outcome.”
