Ben's WX Summary
- Updated: Sunday @ 11:19pm
The forecast remains pretty much unchanged with a good soaking expected across all of Southern California through our Christmas holiday. We are dealing with another atmospheric river, so the prospects of a white Christmas look low at this time, but we should see some colder air and accumulating snowfall by Friday into the weekend. High pressure will begin to weaken and shift east on Monday, allowing the onshore flow to strengthen ahead of our approaching storm. Continued breezy with variable high cloudiness as highs reach the upper 50s to lower 60s, west winds gusting 15-25 mph at times. Clouds and winds will increase throughout the day on Tuesday with a few showers possible during the afternoon. Cooler and windy with highs in the lower 50s, south-southwest winds gusting to near 30 mph at times. The brunt of this storm will arrive Tuesday night into Christmas Eve/Wednesday, bringing rain, heavy at times and isolated thunderstorms. Highs will drop into the 40s with south to southwest winds gusting in excess of 40 mph. The snow level will also hover around 9,000 feet. As the plume of tropical moisture streaming in from the Pacific sags south, steady rain will turn more showers on Christmas Day/Thursday. We could also see the snow level fall to around 7,500 feet, but the bulk of the storm will be over by then, leaving only light accumulations at the upper resort elevations. Total rainfall amounts of 2-4 inches are expected across all of Southern California, including here in the mountains, with locally 4-8 inches of rain possible in western areas and lower coastal slopes, i.e. Rim Communities, Forest Falls, AO, etc. Residents should be prepared for potential flooding & flash flooding with possible rock, debris, and mud slides, especially below recent burn areas, and heed all evacuation warnings or orders. A second, colder storm is slated to arrive on Friday and Saturday, bringing better potential for snowfall, but confidence remains low at this time in the details. More rain and snow is possible later Sunday or early next week as unsettled weather continues towards the new year! If traveling into the mountains, be prepared for winter weather driving conditions throughout the holidays, pack extra food, water, warm clothing, and always carry chains!