Regional Forecasts

El Niño Charged Jet Stream Brings Series of Storms to California and the Southwest

Consistent with what you would expect in a strong El Niño winter, a strong southern-branch jet stream will continue to send one more quick-moving storm system into California and other parts of the West this weekend.

As of Thursday night, all flood watches, warnings and advisories have been allowed to expire over California, as the threat of mudslides, debris flows and flooding has decreased substantially. Earlier in the week, flooding was reported across much of the state, including many of the more populated coastal cities.

Thunderstorms even caused damaging winds and hail, with at least one reported tornado. Meanwhile, some additional snow will pile up in the mountains, frustrating travelers but benefiting the snowpack essential to the state's water supply. The Southwest has also seen some much-needed rain and mountain snow from this wet weather pattern.

(MORE: Latest News on Western Storm Impacts)

The first weather system moved through the region Sunday into Monday.

That was followed by another system that came ashore early in the week, bringing heavy rain from the Bay Area on Tuesday, to the L.A. Basin and San Diego on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, then produced heavy snow and a soaking rain in Arizona. For a recap of rain and snow totals, including perspective on this, scroll below to our storm recap.

This midweek system has largely wound down, giving much of the region a reprieve from the stormy weather on Friday.

Current Radar and Satellite
(Due to the mountainous terrain of the West, not all precipitation can be detected by radar.)

On Saturday, a quick-moving frontal system will approach the West Coast, bringing another rain of coastal and valley rain with locally heavy snow across the mountains.

(INTERACTIVE: Winter Alerts)

Saturday's Forecast
(Forecast lows and precipitation for Saturday.)

(MAPS: 10-day Outlook)

How Much More Rain and Snow?

Snow is likely across much of the Sierra and Cascades from Northern California into southern Oregon on Saturday. While snowfall amounts will generally be light, a few locations could pick up another 6 inches or more of snowfall over the weekend.

The snow will add to a Sierra snowpack that is much more substantial than at the same point last year. According to California's Department of Water Resources, as of Jan. 4, 2015, the central Sierra snowpack was 100 percent or more of average for the season.

(Forecast: Lake Tahoe | Flagstaff)

Forecast Rain and Snow Through Friday
(Forecast for additional rainfall and snowfall through Friday. This does not include precipitation that has already fallen.)

In terms of rainfall, most of the region will remain relatively dry on Friday, but the next slug of moisture will target the northern portion of California over the weekend.

From Friday into early Sunday, a few locations in Northern California to southwestern Oregon may pick up an additional inch or so of rainfall.

First Storm System Recap: Icy Northwest, Rain in California and Southwest

Moisture from the first system impacted parts of Oregon and Washington Sunday into Monday, where a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain made for rough travel conditions along the I-5 corridor. Dozens of car crashes were reported in the Portland, Oregon, area due to the icy conditions, according to the Portland Police. Parts of the Portland area saw up to 1.5 inches of snow and a quarter inch of ice through late Sunday night.

In the Southwest, Phoenix saw just a little more than a quarter inch of rain Monday, which is more rain than they saw in all of the days combined from Nov. 16 through Jan. 3.

Light amounts of rain fell along coastal California.

Cal Trans crews work to remove a mudflow that closed Highway 101 near Ventura, California, Tuesday. (Ventura Police Department) — Caltrans crews work to remove a mudflow that closed Highway 101 near Ventura, California, Tuesday.
(Ventura Police Department)

Second System Soaks California, Southwest

Downtown Los Angeles reported 1.61 inches of rain Tuesday. That's more rain in one day than L.A. had seen in all of October, November and December 2015 combined. San Diego's Lindbergh Field also picked up an impressive 1.90 inches of rain Tuesday.

Highway 101 was closed for about a 4 mile stretch on Tuesday, due to debris flow. Elsewhere, boulders and rocks crashed onto the Pacific Coast Highway at Malibu Canyon, damaging four vehicles in the process. Several freeways in Southern California were also closed, including sections of 10, 105, 110 and 405.

(MORE: California Flooding Closes Roadways)

At least seven debris flows were reported to National Weather Service offices in California Tuesday.

On the wintry side, over a foot of snow had already fallen near Pinecrest, California, in the Sierra south of Lake Tahoe. A spotter in the town of Mount Shasta reported backroads resembling "an ice rink" due to freezing rain.

Flagstaff, Arizona, had already picked up almost 10 inches of total snow as of early Wednesday morning.

Wednesday Brings Severe Storms, More Flooding

During the morning, gusty winds blew a double wide trailer off of its foundation near Paso, California. Winds gusted up to 61 mph at Beverly Hills. Small hail pelted a few locations near the coast of central to Southern California, including some suburbs of Los Angeles.

A line of strong to severe thunderstorms came ashore across San Diego County Wednesday afternoon, causing damaging winds up to 62 mph at a mesonet station near Carlsbad. On the south side of San Clemente, numerous residents reported a tornado with damage to at least one home.

Thunderstorm winds were strong enough to knock down trees over parts of Ventura and San Diego counties, including sections of the city of San Diego, although damage was relatively minor and not widespread.

Rocks and other debris washed onto Del Dios Highway in Oceanside. A portion of the 5 Freeway was closed at Avenida Pico due to high water on the roadway, while a part of Highway 39 was closed due to a mudslide in eastern Los Angeles County.

A daily rainfall record was broken on Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport, after 1.42 inches of rain was reported.

Up to two feet of snow was reported in the mountains of Southern California Wednesday night, at Green Valley Lake and also at San Jacinto State Park west of Palm Springs.