Southern California faces the possibility of flooding and slides in wildfire burn areas, including in the Cleveland National Forest in Orange County near the site of the recent Holy Fire, as a storm brings rain to the region this week.
Rosa will spread the risk of life-threatening flash flooding over the interior Southwest, while a non-tropical storm spreads soaking rain into much of California this week.
Rain showers moved across Northern California on Tuesday after months of extremely dry weather. “What’s that on the radar? Yep, it’s rain!” the Sacramento National Weather Service office tweeted. Showers were reported from the coast inland to the state capital and the San Joaquin Valley, but rainfall rates varied greatly. The 0.01 inch (0.25 millimeter) of rainfall received in Fresno by early afternoon was enough to crow about.
The remnants of Hurricane Rosa are forecast to bring heavy rain and the threat of flash flooding to the Southwest over the next few days. The now-tropical storm – which had been as strong as a Category 4 hurricane – is poised to make landfall along Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula on Monday evening, where heavy rain was already being reported.
Southern California got ready Monday for the first storm of the new rain season, due midweek, while also preparing for possible debris flows as the threatening remnants of tropical storm Rosa rolled through the mountain and desert areas. For a time Monday afternoon, authorities issued a voluntary flood evacuation for San Jacinto Mountain communities in the area of the Cranston fire that burned near Idyllwild as Rosa’s clouds headed north from Baja. That voluntary evacuation notice was lifted early Monday evening.
While most of California will miss out on Rosa’s soaking rain, a storm on its heels will bring the first measurable rain since May to San Francisco, Los Angeles and other cities Tuesday into Wednesday. In California, the rain and flood risk associated with Rosa is expected to remain confined to the state’s southeastern corner early this week. Rough seas stirred up by Rosa will still continue to plague Southern California through Monday. Rip currents can endanger surfers or anyone who attempts to enter the water, and minor coastal flooding may occur at high tide.
he final figures won’t be available until midnight. But San Diego will end the current rainy season (October 1-September 30) with roughly 3.34 inches of precipitation, which is 7 inches below average, says the National Weather Service. The deficit is even bigger in Ramona, which recorded approximately 5.80 inches of rain, which is 10.24 inches below average.
Light showers could hit parts of Los Angeles County beginning late Monday as a low pressure system moves onshore, with some areas across the region expected to get up to an inch of rain on Tuesday, forecasters say. The eastern end of Los Angeles County, including Azusa, could get less than a 10th of an inch of rain starting Monday after 6 p.m., said Kathy Hoxsie, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. A slight chance of isolated thunderstorms is also forecast.
The remnants of Hurricane Rosa were expected to drop rain in the San Diego region Monday, a National Weather Service forecaster said. The storm already brought higher-than-normal surf levels to the coasts Saturday night. The waves were expected to peak Sunday night through Monday evening, before decreasing into Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. Waves of three to five feet with sets to seven feet were predicted for San Diego County beaches, the NWS said. The swell direction was expected to give south-facing beaches the highest surf, such as Coronado and the Orange County coast.
San Diego County could get its first substantial rain since March early next week. Or not. The remains of Hurricane Rosa, a major hurricane with 125 mph winds southwest of the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula on Thursday night, are expected to drift northward. By Monday, Rosa should be downgraded to a tropical storm. By Tuesday, much of its moisture, if not its tropical-storm-force winds, should move into or close to Southern California.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
