After only a short reprieve Sunday, new winter storms are expected to bring even more precipitation to Southern California through Wednesday, though forecasters say it won’t be a repeat of last week’s epic storms, which dumped record-breaking rainfall and brought historic snow to the Southland.
“There’s no comparison with this storm versus last week,” said David Gomberg, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Oxnard. “It is a more typical winter-type storm for us, in terms of rain and snow amounts.”
The coasts and valleys can expect around 1 inch of rain through Wednesday, while the foothills could see up to 2 inches, forecasts show.
Still, Gomberg said, mountain snowfall will likely be the “most impactful part of the storm,” especially as crews continue working to respond to issues and blocked roadways across Southern California’s mountains from the last storm. Snowfall hit more than 50 inches across many peaks as of early Sunday, with the Mountain High ski resort in Wrightwood recording more than 90 inches from the last storm, according to the National Weather Service’s final accumulation count.
This storm could bring up to 2 more feet of snow in the highest elevations, Gomberg said, noting that a winter weather advisory is already in effect for most of the region’s mountains. It will be upgraded to a winter storm watch Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening, with heavier snow, high winds and difficult travel expected.
Rainfall predictions through Wednesday are not necessarily eye-popping, but Gomberg warned the added precipitation could exacerbate fragile conditions created in the last storm, with concern about even more mud or rock slides. A few homes in La Cañada Flintridge were damaged this weekby washed debris.
“If this rain was just on its own, it wouldn’t be that big a concern but because everything is loose and saturated already, it becomes more of an issue,” Gomberg said.
Rain totals from last week were extremely high, hitting new records in some places, according to the National Weather Service.
More than 10 inches of rain fell in multiple areas over just a few days, including in Woodland Hills and Stunt Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains, while Pasadena recorded more than 8 inches and downtown L.A. and Culver City hovered around 5 inches.
Los Angeles International Airport and Burbank’s airport both broke records for rainfall Friday, Gomberg said. In a 24-hour period, LAX got 2.04 inches of rain, easily passing its previous record for Feb. 24 of three-quarters of an inch from 2000. At Burbank’s airport, 4.61 inches fell, breaking the previous record of 3.87 inches from 1998.
Winds will also be “not as strong as the last event,” but still a concern, Gomberg said, with a wind advisory in effect through Monday night for the Antelope Valley. Winds in the mountains could see gusts up to 70 mph at some points, advisories said.