National Weather Service Issues Wind Advisory For Pass Area

BANNING, CA — As another winter storm sweeps across the Inland Valley this weekend, the Pass Area can expect rain and wind.

According to the National Weather Service, Banning is under a wind advisory from 6 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. Saturday.

"Southwest to west winds of 25-35 mph with gusts to 60 mph are likely through early Saturday morning," the agency reported.

Rain is also on tap. Forecasters said the trough of low pressure originating from the Pacific Northwest will roll into the region, blanketing the area with widespread rainfall, though the heaviest downpours are expected between the early evening and midnight hours Friday.

There is a moderate risk of excessive rainfall in Riverside County mountains prompting the NWS to issue a flood watch Friday evening through 6 a.m. Saturday.

Heavy snow is not expected with the storm.

"Snow levels will be very high with this system, above 9,000 feet," the weather service said. "All the precipitation that occurs in the mountains will fall as rain."

The lack of freezing precipitation is likely a welcome relief to residents of the mountain communities along Highway 243 in the San Bernardino National Forest, where cold storms in recent weeks increased snowpacks to the point that some roads were impassable.

Although most of the communities south of the San Gorgonio Pass and west of Palm Springs have dug out, residents of a few hamlets in the San Bernardino Mountains to the north remain buried.

The Pass Area could see up to a half inch of rain from the storm, according to the NWS.

"Rainfall will end on Saturday morning, with dry and warmer days in store Sunday and Monday, as high pressure aloft pushes into the western states," the NWS stated.

Daytime temperatures in the Pass Area on Friday will settle just below 60, with lows around 50 Friday night.

In the Coachella Valley, temperatures will top out in the low to mid-70s Friday, with lows in the mid-50s, according to the NWS.