SoCal Storm Season Kicks Off With Days Of Rain

LOS ANGELES, CA — The start of Southern California's rainy season arrives this week with widespread showers over a five-day stretch, according to the National Weather Service.

Starting early Wednesday, the storm will bring scattered showers through Sunday. As the slow-moving storm arrives in Southern California, forecasters downgraded expectations for precipitation from heavy downpours to scattered showers.

Forecasters noted the storm "is looking considerably weaker than earlier forecasts and now most areas will only be looking at periods of light to locally moderate rain showers at most."

In Los Angeles County, about half an inch to an inch and a half of rain is expected, with higher totals predicted in higher mountain areas. In Orange and San Diego Counties, residents should see almost an inch of rain throughout the whole area. Residents in Riverside County will likely see just over an inch of rain, the weather service said.

"Light to moderate rain and cooler temperatures will spread over the region Wednesday through Sunday," according to the weather service. "The highest chances for precipitation will be Wednesday and again Friday into Saturday."

Though the overall risk of major weather-related events such as mudslides or floods is low, burn scar areas may be more vulnerable to mudslides, officials warned.

"It's looking really light," said said Mike Wofford with the National Weather Service Los Angeles office. "This is the first time we've had rain since Hilary, so it might not take much to set a mudslide off."

The heaviest part of the storm is expected to start on Friday and has the chance to last until Sunday, the weather service said. The chance of thunder and lightning during the storm is low, forecasters said, but the weather service is actively monitoring and will provide warnings if the forecast changes.

Previous forecasts mentioned a chance of snow in low areas, but Casey Oswant with the San Diego weather service office said snow will likely only fall in areas over 8,000 feet in elevation.

Overall, Oswant said this first rainstorm should be very beneficial for the Southland.

Following the rain, the region is expected to dry out early next week. Low clouds and fog are expected to return as soon as Sunday night into Monday, according to the weather service.

City News Service contributed to this report.