Flash Flood Watch Issued Throughout Riverside County

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Steady rain showers will continue Tuesday in Riverside County and snow could fall in the mountains as a storm slowly makes its way through southern California.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch that will be in effect throughout Riverside County from 11 a.m. Tuesday through 7 p.m. Wednesday. All Riverside County cities are impacted — from the Southwest Riverside County cities of Temecula, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar and Menifee, to the Coachella Valley and further east to the Arizona border, and the northern edges of the county, from Banning, Beaumont and to Jurupa Valley.

Showers will pick up Tuesday by midday and remain consistent through Wednesday, forecasters said. A chance of afternoon thunderstorms will last through Thursday and the rain is expected to linger until Friday.

Rainfall amounts through Friday morning could reach 2 inches in the Riverside metropolitan area, 2.5 inches in the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning, 5 inches in Idyllwild and 1.5 inches in the Coachella Valley, according to the NWS.

A winter storm warning will remain in effect until 5 a.m. Thursday in the mountain communities above 5,500 feet in Riverside County and San Bernardino County.

Snow levels will be around 6,000 feet Tuesday before dropping to 5,000 feet Wednesday morning and 4,500 feet by Wednesday night.

Idyllwild could get trace amounts of snow through Thursday, while the mountains in San Bernardino County are expected to get between 10 and 16 inches, with up to 32 inches possible near mountain peaks, forecasters said.

NWS officials warned that mountain roads above 5,500 feet could be slippery and visibility could be limited at times because of falling snow.

San Jacinto broke two records for the date on Monday, one for lowest maximum temperatures and another for daily precipitation. The mercury in the city only reached 57 degrees on Monday, breaking the previous record of 60 degrees in 2001. It also received 0.14 of an inch of rain, exceeding the previous amount of one-tenth of an inch on April 6, 1986.

In a 24-hour period ending at 3 a.m. Tuesday, Vista Grande had received the most rain, 2.44 inches, followed by 2.41 in Poppet Flats, 2.05 in Angeles Hill, 1.77 in Allandale, in the Temescal Valley and at the Pigeon Pass Dam, 1.51 in Beaumont and 1.46 in Pine Cove and the Banning Bench.
Other noteworthy rainfall totals included 1.46 in Temecula, 1.11 at the Riverside March Air Reserve Base, 0.97 at the Riverside Airport and 0.95 in Lake Elsinore.

High temperatures Tuesday could reach 60 degrees in Riverside, 65 in the San Gorgonio Pass, 72 in the Coachella Valley, 41 in Idyllwild, 56 in Temecula and 58 in Hemet.

The storm is expected to move east out of the region on Friday, then temperatures will warm up amid dry conditions Saturday through Monday, forecasters said.