Southern California’s long wait for measurable rain may finally come to an end this weekend but too much water could pose a danger for the region’s recent burn areas.
The storm is still a few days out but it will bring a drastic change to the weather landscape. Instead of warm and dry conditions with extremely dangerous Santa Ana winds, Southern California will see a dramatic drop in temperatures with a chance of rain by Saturday.
“Not only do we bring some rain into the forecast on Saturday, but mountain snow,” KTLA Meteorologist Henry DiCarlo said. Snow levels could drop to 4,000 feet by Sunday morning.
“That speaks to how cold the air is that will drive in for the weekend,” Henry said. “We’re going to see a massive drop in temperatures.”
Downtown Los Angeles could see an afternoon high of 81 degrees on Thursday before temperatures plunge to around 56 degrees by Sunday.
The storm could produce a quarter to a third of an inch of rain in some areas but isn’t expected to bring widespread downpours, Henry said. “Which is good. We don’t want to see a heavy downpour … we have those burn areas … so, some light to moderate rain would help. Heavy rain would not just because of the potential for any type of slippage on the ground.”
While Southern California is in desperate need of rain, concern immediately shifts to the dangers that too much moisture poses to the region’s recent burn areas, especially for the Palisades and Eaton fire burn scars.
While not rain-related, a home that survived the devastating Palisades Fire was destroyed days later after a mudslide split it in half.
Footage from Sky5 over the 17000 block of Castellammare Drive showed the effects of the mudlide, believed to be the result of water runoff from the firefight.
The National Weather Service is still calling for another day of potentially dangerous Santa Ana winds Tuesday with gusts up to 70 mph in local coasts and valleys.
“Once we get to the midday hours, we’ll start seeing the winds taper off … unfortunately the winds will be on-again off-again until about Thursday … certainly not as strong as it has been,” Henry said.
