Following mild showers throughout the Los Angeles area Thursday morning, forecasters say Southern California can anticipate a reprieve — nonetheless short-lived — from latest rains.
A weak climate system moved down the Central Coast on Wednesday, hitting Los Angeles early Thursday, the place it “triggered an actual deepening of the marine layer,” mentioned Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the Nationwide Climate Service in Oxnard.
“We did have some mild showers and drizzle in a single day,” Kittell mentioned Thursday morning. “It was fairly widespread, however the quantities have been just about a tenth of a inch or much less.”
“We’re anticipating that to be reducing by way of the morning and be just about accomplished by the afternoon,” he added. It’s unlikely that any continued showers would drastically enhance rainfall totals, he mentioned.
Mild rain or drizzle will have an effect on many areas by way of Thursday as a weak climate system strikes overhead. Rainfall can be 0.25″ or much less, and NW-N wind gusts can be between 20-40 mph. Count on slick roads and patchy dense fog in some areas, and use additional warning driving. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/yh4oeekpYa
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 24, 2024
Come Friday, Kittell mentioned there can be a dramatic shift in climate, with a dry, warming pattern anticipated.
“We’re going to rapidly bounce from this cool drizzly sample to Santa Ana offshore winds beginning [Friday],” Kittell mentioned, referencing the sturdy, dry, downslope winds that always trigger fireplace considerations throughout Southern California. However with the latest rains, Kittell mentioned the impact of the easterly winds, coupled with a high-pressure system over the Southwest, will trigger a “fairly fast warmup,” starting Friday and persevering with by way of Tuesday.
Highs on Friday by way of early subsequent week will attain into the 70s.
However forecasters are warning that extra rain is on the way in which, and Kittell mentioned it might arrive as early as Wednesday. An “impactful atmospheric river occasion” is predicted to maneuver south alongside the West Coast from Wednesday to Feb. 5, bringing heavy rain, vital snow and excessive winds, in accordance with the most recent updates from the Nationwide Climate Service’s Local weather Prediction Heart.
“There’s nonetheless a variety of outcomes so far as how a lot rain we’ll see, however the most effective estimates are for 1 to 2 inches of rain with that first storm,” Kittell mentioned. “After that, they’ll possible be one other storm or two.”
A lot of California and the West are anticipated to see increased than common precipitation over the following two weeks.
“Individuals ought to be ready for a fairly moist finish of subsequent week into the next week,” Kittell mentioned.
Earlier this week, a big storm dumped heavy rain on Southern California, hitting San Diego notably onerous. Historic rainfall there triggered main flash flooding that broken tons of of properties, companies and roadways, leaving an untold variety of households displaced.
