SoCal storm: Lighter, longer rain patch coming to Los Angeles area

There's more rain on the way to the L.A. area. The storms aren't likely to be as damaging as those that caused evacuations and toppled trees in Southern California last week, but they are likely to be around until at least Thursday.

National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Sirard said the rain won't likely begin until Monday evening. 

"The storm system has slowed down, so we don't expect much in the way of weather [Monday] except mostly cloudy skies," he said.

By Tuesday, those clouds are expected to drop one to two-thirds of an inch of rain in the valleys and snow in the mountains, and linger through Wednesday, NWS said. 

"Tuesday night and Wednesday another shot of rain will move into the area," Sirard said. "There's also going to be a slight chance of thunderstorms Tuesday afternoon and again on Wednesday."

In all, the system will leave about an inch or two of rain by Wednesday night, according the NWS. Brief, high-intensity rainfall could trigger flash flooding in areas recently burned by wildfires.

"Right now we're not anticipating any problems with the burn area," he added. "However, if an isolated thunderstorm were to pop up right over the burn area and drop two-tenths of an inch in fifteen minutes, then yeah, that would be a concern."

Mountain areas above 5,000 to 6,000 feet could receive several inches of snow, according to the NWS, and rains could prompt high surf advisories later in the week. 

Colder temperatures will also move in mid-week, the agency forecasted, with lows in the mid 50s to mid 60s˚C on the coast and in the valleys, and as low as the mid 30s˚C in mountain areas.

Last Friday, heavy rain caused flooding in some burn areas in Glendora and Camarillo Springs. The storm caused power outages across Southern California, flooded roadways and saw a small tornado touch down in South Los Angeles. 

Crews haven't yet been able to full clear many of the debris basins in L.A. County ahead of Monday's expected rains, but DWP officials said the precipitation isn't likely to be heavy enough to cause serious problems.