Potentially heavy rain in the forecast for Southern California
After a sunny start to the week, weather officials are now advising Southern California residents to not expect to see the sun “for a while.”
According to the National Weather Service, a weak storm system will bring breezy winds and light rain to much of the area on Wednesday; communities that don’t experience rain will still see mostly cloudy skies and temperatures hovering in the high 60s to low 70s.
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The chance of rain will only increase as the weekend gets closer.
“Periods of rain, potentially heavy at times, will be possible across most of the area late Friday through Monday,” NWS said. “Don’t expect to see the sun for a while as Southern California enters into a cloudy and increasingly wet period.”
There is a five to 15% chance of thunderstorms on Sunday, weather officials said, with snow levels remaining around 7,000 feet.
Local preliminary rainfall projections range from just over half an inch in Lancaster to 2.7 inches in Ojai, with over three inches of rain expected in parts of San Luis Obispo County and over four inches in Santa Barbara County.
Minor flooding of small streams and in urban areas is possible, weather officials said.
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Air quality is also deteriorating, with many in SoCal urged to limit their outdoor activity.
“Usually, [we can get] an idea as to why we are seeing this poor air quality … it might be a consistent ridge of high pressure that sits on top of us for days and traps pollutants,” KTLA 5 meteorologist Henry DiCarlo said. “Oftentimes it could be from recent fires or an ongoing fire, but we just have some poor air quality going on and it’s worth mentioning because if you do any type of [outdoor] physical exercise, you need to be aware of that.”
To view the most up-to-date forecast for your community, click here.
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