Spring is almost a month old, but it’s about to feel like winter as another Pacific storm is expected to bring rain and snow across the state – the latest in a series of weekends -soggy ends.
Angelenos were just beginning to taste spring warmth, especially on Tuesday, when temperatures reached a peak of 77 degrees in the city. But a storm front moving toward Southern California Friday night is expected to bring downright chilly temperatures across Los Angeles County, said National Weather Service meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld.
“Temperatures are going to drop pretty drastically,” Schoenfeld said of Saturday’s frigid weather. “Temperatures will struggle to get above the 60s in most areas. Some areas will even (remain) in the upper 50s.”
This cold weather coupled with gusts of up to 25 to 40 mph across the state will result in a wet and cold weekend for Los Angeles County residents, as the National Weather Service predicts the region will record between a quarter inch and an inch of rain.
Mountain areas near the Sierra Nevada and Mammoth Lakes will receive 4 to 8 inches of snow in the upper peaks ranging from 6,000 to 8,500 feet in elevation. Snowfall is expected to push water levels to 123% of normal for this season, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Edan Lindaman.
Reno meteorologists typically no longer closely monitor the snowpack after April 1 because Lindaman said warmer spring weather made it difficult for substantial snow accumulation. But in recent years, cold spring storms have become more frequent.
“Last year we had several additional systems that actually brought a little more snow and rain showers and kept things cooler and wetter, even into May and June,” Lindaman said . “So this type of variability is quite common, especially in the spring.”
Lindaman warned climbers to be wary of road conditions because any snowpack could affect their driving, although concern did not rise to the level of an official warning for the weekend.
A landslide near Big Sur caused by heavy winter rains will close Highway 1 to motorists Saturday due to the approaching storm.
Roger Gass, a National Weather Service meteorologist in the Bay Area, said there was always a chance that wet weather could exacerbate existing landslide threats “because soil moisture remains very saturated.”
“Be careful of the roads if you are driving in hilly terrain,” Gass said, adding that “the greater risk of flooding is minimal.”
In Southern California, Schoenfeld said there is a 10 to 20 percent chance of thunderstorms that could bring heavy rain and flash flooding to some areas.
“But there is no particular cause for concern at the moment,” Schoenfeld said. “We don’t expect widespread problems like that.”
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