Another Cold Weather Storm Arrives Ahead Of Solar Eclipse

Sorry Southern California, yet another cold weather storm has arrived.

It’ll look a little like last weekend, except much colder and with only about a quarter of the rainfall, according to Tom Fisher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

But on the bright side, Fisher said the rain should clear out by the time Saturday rolls around, just in time for Monday's solar eclipse.

What to expect 

The wet weather will mainly move in Friday, and most areas are expected to get less than half an inch of rain. However, the mountains and foothills could see up to an inch.

Keep up with LAist.

If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.

Subscribe

There’s also a small chance of thunderstorms for most of Friday, and temperatures will be around 20 degrees below normal into Saturday.

“In these showers, there'll be some heavier downpours and possible thunder and small hail,” Fisher said.

He noted that they’ll be scattered around, so while some areas might see just a trace of rain, others could get much more. That could pose problems for landslides, especially if heavier showers dump over movement-prone areas.

On Thursday, three residential properties were yellow tagged in Newport Beach after a landslide occurred in the1400 block of Galaxy Drive.

As for snow, areas above 5,000 feet are expected to get 3 to 8 inches of fresh powder, with lower elevations seeing 1 to 3 inches. Snow levels will likely also drop down to around 3,000 feet for most of the storm, Fisher added.

In the Antelope Valley, the mountain areas should prepare for strong winds up to 50 mph.

And along the coast, L.A. County could see high surf between 5 to 8 feet, and 7 to 10 feet in Ventura County.

“This is a weaker storm and I hope we're kind of well rehearsed by now,” Fisher said.

What about the solar eclipse forecast? 

Temperatures are expected to warm back up by Monday.

“Look for maybe above normal by the middle of next week, and stay tuned to see if we get a repeat the following weekend,” Fisher said.

He said there’s a small chance even more wet weather is in store, but nothing like the level we’ve seen lately.