Weather

San Clemente Residents Prepare For Heavy Rain, Wind & Flooding Tuesday

The National Weather Service is calling for over an inch of rain to fall across Orange County in the chilly, windy storm arriving overnight.

The National Weather Service is calling for over an inch of rain to fall across Orange County in the chilly, windy storm arriving overnight.
The National Weather Service is calling for over an inch of rain to fall across Orange County in the chilly, windy storm arriving overnight. (Ashley Ludwig/Patch)

SAN CLEMENTE, CA —A major winter storm is heading to the Southland Monday night, bringing rainfall and snow in elevated areas. Orange County is under both a wind advisory and a flash flood watch much of Tuesday, the National Weather Service says.

The strong storm system was expected to soak much of Southern California with rain and coat mountaintops with snow Monday and Tuesday. Coastal areas and the valleys could get up to 3 inches of rain during the storm, while mountains and foothills could see up to 5 inches.

On Tuesday, much of Orange County will be under a wind advisory from 4 a.m. to midnight and a flash flood watch is in effect from 6 a.m. through 9 p.m.

Find out what's happening in San Clementefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

San Clemente residents can expect between 1 to 1.5 inches of rain to fall, along with 25 miles per hour sustained winds. Gusts of up to 45 miles per hour are expected, according to the NWS.

The majority of the rain will arrive before 10 a.m. along the coast, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., then a chance of rain and thunderstorms after 4 p.m.

Find out what's happening in San Clementefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall, the NWS reported.

The Orange County Health Care Agency has opened the cold weather shelters for those 18 and up in need of getting out of the extreme cold and weather, they reported Monday.

There is no time like the present to review your emergency plans and prepare your home for inclement weather.

  • Make sure you are connected to AlertOC and Nixle.
  • Clean your gutters and trim back your trees.
  • Plan for power outages, and have a 72-hour emergency kit.
  • Have an evacuation plan with your family, and be sure phone numbers are written down.
  • Make a family emergency plan, in case you are not together.
  • Plan for flooding with the use of sandbags and/or flood gates, as are used in Laguna Beach.

Here is a detailed forecast from the National Weather Service for Orange County towns.

Find Sandbags through Orange County Fire Authority stations:

Residents are encouraged to bring their own shovel, and crews may or may not be present to assist in filling sandbags, an OCFA spokesperson says.

Limited supply based on demand and availability.

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