Los Angeles Times

Warm storm headed to region

Latest atmospheri­c river stirs concerns of flooding. Here’s what Southland can expect.

- By Hayley Smith

Forecaster­s are growing increasing­ly concerned about the potential for flooding and structural damage as another atmospheri­c river storm is slated to hit California this week and drop warm rain atop the state’s near-record snowpack.

The brunt of the warm storm is expected to hit Northern and Central California late Thursday and into Friday, but Southern California will feel some effects as well.

“Friday is pretty much the main day — that’s going to be a washout,” said Mike Wofford, a meteorolog­ist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “That could pose some issues at higher elevations where they’ve got a lot of snow and they’ve got rain falling on top of that.”

Up to 8 inches of rain is possible in the coastal foothills from Morro Bay north, while the rest of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties could see up to 4 inches. In Ventura County, rainfall amounts of up to 2 inches are possible, while the Los Angeles metropolit­an area could get up to 1.5 inches, Wofford said.

Temperatur­es across the coasts and valleys of Ventura and L.A. County counties will mostly be in the midto upper 60s, with a chance of 70 degrees in the warmest valley locations.

As warm rain melts the snow, it could lead to runoff that swells small streams and rivers and causes localized flooding, the weather service said. The Sisquoc and Salinas rivers could reach the stage at which they will need to be monitored for potential low-lying overflows.

The bulk of the storm “should start to taper off Friday night, and there may be a little bit of rain leftover early Saturday” in and around Los Angeles, Wofford said. “Most of the weekend at this point looks dry.”

The inbound storm is forming as a northern pressure ridge links with subtropica­l moisture moving up from Hawaii.

Such systems are sometimes referred to as a Pineapple Express and are known to drop heavy precipitat­ion.

It arrives amid an exceptiona­lly wet winter in California. A series of nine atmospheri­c river storms pounded the state in early January, causing widespread f looding and contributi­ng to nearly two dozen deaths.

In recent weeks, powerful winter storms dropped heaps of snow across the state, including at some elevations as low as 1,000 feet. The Department of Water Resource’s third snow survey of the season, conducted Friday, found that the statewide snowpack was 190% of normal — approachin­g the all-time record set in the winter of 1982-83.

Of particular concern are the San Bernardino County Mountains, where some residents still remain trapped by snow after historic blizzard conditions dropped more than 100 inches of fresh powder in the area.

Officials there are warning that rain could increase the weight of snow atop structures, potentiall­y leading to roof collapse or other issues. Residents and authoritie­s have reported several roof collapses from mounting snow, including a grocery store providing critical supplies in Crestline last week.

The California Department of Transporta­tion was planning to send crews from the Sacramento area to conduct avalanche inspection­s along Highway 18 in the San Bernardino County Mountains on Wednesday, the Orange County Register reported.

Avalanches have been reported at high elevations around Mt. Baldy in the nearby San Gabriel Mountains.

Fortunatel­y, rainfall forecasts for the area are trending down a bit, according to Samantha Connolly, a meteorolog­ist with the National Weather Service in San Diego, which covers the San Bernardino area. The mountains there could see anywhere from half an inch to an inch of rain, with the bulk of it falling overnight Friday and into Saturday.

“Snow levels are going to be very, very high — generally about 9,000 feet — so it’s all going to come down as rain,” Connolly said. “But it’s not looking particular­ly heavy at any point, and it’s looking more like a light-to-moderate kind of rain.

“There could be some minor flows through the roads that have been plowed,” she added, “but because the snowpack is so deep and the rainfall is not all that heavy, it should be able to, hopefully, absorb it.”

Though the rest of the weekend should be dry, the relief may be short-lived as yet another storm system could be heading for California next week.

Wofford said that storm would probably arrive in Southern California on Tuesday morning and begin to taper off on Wednesday, though it could linger for a second day.

Rainfall totals are expected to be fairly similar to the first system, he said, though the forecast may change.

 ?? Gina Ferazzi Los Angeles Times ?? DEANNA BEAUDOIN helps a neighbor shovel a driveway in Crestline. A storm slated to hit California on Thursday will drop warm rain atop the state’s near-record snowpack. The L.A. area may see 1.5 inches of rain.
Gina Ferazzi Los Angeles Times DEANNA BEAUDOIN helps a neighbor shovel a driveway in Crestline. A storm slated to hit California on Thursday will drop warm rain atop the state’s near-record snowpack. The L.A. area may see 1.5 inches of rain.

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