Dec 5, 2007 10:18 am US/Pacific
New Storm Could Bring 3 Inches Of Rain To SoCal
SAN DIEGO (AP) ―
As heavy surf continued to pound the Southland's coastline, a powerful storm bore down on the region Thursday, threatening rain, snow, gusty winds and flash flooding.
The cold storm system out of the Gulf of Alaska was expected to slam Southern California starting late Thursday.
It will create of period of between four and six hours of moderate to heavy rainfall extending into Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
Ahead of the front, gusty southeast-to-south winds will spread across the region Thursday night and Friday morning, gusting at between 30 and 40 miles per hour in coastal and valley areas and at 50 mph in the mountains, according to an NWS advisory.
Given the "potential for high intensity rainfall," the NWS warned of the possibility of mudslides and debris flows and issued a flash flood watch, effective through tomorrow afternoon, for areas of the Southland previously denuded by wildfire.
The fast-moving storm should clear out by Friday but rainfall could linger, and there's what the NWS called "a small chance of showers" Saturday.
Rainfall amounts are expected to range between a half-inch and an inch across coastal and valley locations, and between one and three inches at the foothills and in the mountains, NWS forecasters said. The denser rainfall is expected on the south-facing slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains.
At higher elevations, the snow level will start out above 6,500 feet, dropping to around 5,000 feet by late Friday.
The heaviest snowfall accumulations will occur above 7,000 feet, where more than a foot of new snow can be expected, according to the NWS. Mountain resorts between 6,000 and 7,000 feet can expect 3-6 inches.
At sea level, large western swells continued to generate big surf along the Southland coastline today, producing strong rip currents and beach erosion, according to the NWS.
A high surf advisory will be in effect until at least 3 p.m. Thursday. Until then, the coast is likely to be pounded by surf of between four and seven feet, with sets to nine feet along some west-facing beaches.
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