Storm remnants will increase humidity

Remnants of Eugene are expected to bring a chance of rain to Southern California.

What remains of Tropical Storm Eugene — a system that began spiraling off Mexico’s western coast this weekend — is now moving up the Baja Coast, expected to bring isolated showers and a spike in humidity to the Southland.

The cloud system is forecast to bring “typical tropical conditions” to the region that will linger at least until Thursday, said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

“We’ve got chances for some showers and maybe even some isolated thunderstorms starting ... through Thursday,” Wofford said. There’s about a 30% chance of showers over the next few days, with a slightly lower chance for thunderstorms.

While the clouds and rain will make temperatures drop slightly throughout the region, Wofford said higher humidity will likely cancel out any semblance of cooling.

The slightly cooler weather follows several weeks of high temperatures in the region, brought about by a “heat dome” that has baked the entire Southwest.

The risk of dry lightning sparking wildfires will remain heightened through Wednesday before the moisture moves in.

“Anytime you get these systems that come in, especially before a lot of the moisture arrives, sometime you get some lightning strikes not accompanied by much rain,” Wofford said.

The highest chance for rain, which includes the potential for heavy downpours, will be Wednesday evening through Thursday morning.

Eugene formed off the coast of Mexico this weekend but remained relatively far offshore, so its high winds didn’t have any major effects on land.

The system is expected to move farther north by Thursday, bringing the same cooler temperatures and showers to the Central Coast by midweek.