Pacific Storm Could Douse Southland with an Inch of Rain

High surf continued to batter the coastline Thursday as a Pacific storm took aim at the region, poised to unleash rainfall from Saturday night through early Monday, forecasters said.

The storm, which is over the eastern Pacific on Thursday, will approach Southern California Saturday evening, then spread over Los Angeles Counties and neighboring counties Sunday through early Monday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Curt Kaplan.

The storm could generate between a half-inch and an inch of rain in coastal valleys and between 1 and 3 inches in the mountains, he said, adding that there will be a risk of mud and debris flows over slopes denuded by wildfire.

Initially, the snow will fall above 6,000 feet, but the snow level will later drop to between 3,500 and 4,000 feet, which could affect driving on the I- 5 Corridor and over the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway, Kaplan said.

The storm will generate gusty winds, and temperatures will be in the high 50s and low 60s, he said.

The NWS forecast partly cloudy skies Thursday in Los Angeles County, sunny skies in Orange County, and highs of 65 in Palmdale; 67 in Lancaster and Newport Beach; 68 on Mount Wilson, in Laguna Beach and San Clemente; 69 in Avalon; 71 at LAX; 73 in Irvine and Saugus; 74 in Anaheim, Long Beach and downtown L.A.; 75 in Fullerton, San Gabriel and Burbank; 76 in Mission Viejo, Woodland Hills and Pasadena; and 78 in Yorba Linda.

Temperatures Friday will be the same as Thursday’s in some communities, a little lower in others, lower still Saturday, and several degrees lower Sunday amid the expected rainfall. There is no rain in the very near-term forecast after Monday.

--City News Service, photo courtesy of National Weather Service