Second Storm Of The Winter Expected To Hit To SoCal Next Week

LOS ANGELES, CA — Forecasters say there's a growing chance that rain will return to Southern California next week as a cold front moves through the region, bring the second storm of the winter season.

The low pressure system is expected to move inland through California and hit the Southland by the middle of next week. Exact details are still coming into focus, so there's still a degree of uncertainty about how much rain will fall and where exactly in Southern California the storm will hit, National Weather Service Forecasters say.

"It looks like it's going to give Northern California a good amount of rain this weekend. We'll have to see how far south that system goes by the middle of the week," NWS San Diego meteorologist Adam Roser told Patch.

An atmospheric river-fueled storm will drench the northern part of the state, weakening as it heads south.

The best early estimate forecasters have for Los Angeles and Ventura counties is for light to moderate rain amounts, with light to moderate intensities Tuesday through Thursday, peaking Wednesday. There's a less-than 10% chance of heavy rain, according to the NWS.

It's not likely to bring enough rain to pull Southern California out of this nightmare fire season, but that may not be a bad thing.

Forecasters say there is a "very low risk" for the rain to cause debris flows, which is a particularly salient concern following the massive destruction of hillside areas by the Palisades and Eaton fires.

Last weekend's rain brought some small slides that blocked roads in the Palisades Fire area.

Forecasters say that confidence remains low that notable precipitation will make it farther south to Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties — though a chance of showers still remains.

In that area, there could be some areas of showers Wednesday though Thursday, though forecasters are not confidence of the timing, Roser said.

"Once we get closer to the weekend we'll have a better idea if and when it will come our way," he said.

In the more near term, cool weather is expected to continue through this Friday before a high pressure system brings warmer weather for the weekend across Southern California.

"Stratus coverage exploded over the LA Basin as the soundings indicate a depth close to 6000`, then sloping down to around 3000 feet along the Central Coast. Clearing will be slow today and temperatures will remain 3-6 degrees below normal in most areas," the National Weather Service noted.

Cloud models show much less cover Friday and over the weekend, and temperatures are expected to warm 3 to 6 degrees, bringing highs to the mid 60s for most coastal and valley locations. There will be a further 2 to 4 degrees of warming on Saturday and another 1 to 2 on Sunday, bringing highs to the lower 70s, the NWS said.

Temperatures will be as much as 10 to 15 degrees above average in the mountains and high desert, forecasters said.