The first of two storms that will bring a chance of rain to Southern California for the rest of the week arrived early Tuesday morning.
Radar images showed rain already falling on parts of the Southland by 4 a.m. This first system is expected to be the weaker of the two but will still bring between a third and two-thirds of an inch of rain to Los Angeles County, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Snow levels will remain around the 6,000-foot mark with the higher elevations receiving about 6 inches of snow from Tuesday’s storm.
“There will be a little break in the action tonight and most of Wednesday morning,” the NWS stated.
The second and “much more powerful” storm is currently brewing in the Gulf of Alaska and should bring rain totals along the coasts and valleys to between 1 and 2 inches by Thursday night, according to the NWS. Mountain and foothill totals could reach 4 inches.
“The most severe weather that we’re tracking will be Wednesday night through Thursday morning,” KTLA’s Kirk Hawkins said.
Concern is rising over the possibility of thunderstorms bringing heavy downpours, which could impact the burn areas.
“We could see some significant debris flows associated with that,” Kirk said.
A flash flood watch for much of the region is in effect from Wednesday evening through Thursday afternoon.
The rain is expected to turn into showers at some point Thursday but plenty of snow will continue to fall on our local mountains.
A winter storm watch is in place from Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning.
One to two feet of snow is possible above 6,500 feet with lighter amounts as low as 3,000 feet by Thursday.
The lowering snow level could impact travel through our local mountain passes including the Grapevine. Motorists were urged to bring chains and winter driving supplies.
While there is still a chance of rain continuing on Friday, skies are expected to clear and dry out for part of the weekend. Another storm is being tracked for early next week.
