Rain, wind and storms to ‘linger for several days’ across California, latest forecasts say
“When it rains, it pours” — or so the saying goes.
While this isn’t usually true for sunny California, heavy rain is predicted for next week starting on Monday and continuing through at least Thursday, according to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
Rain, wind and snow are expected to hit the state as a result of a “deep low pressure system” starting Monday, Daniel Swain wrote in a recent Weather West blog post. Swain, a UCLA climate scientist and science communicator, focuses on weather events including floods, droughts and wildfires, according to his bio on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“This will be a rather slow-moving and broad low pressure system that will linger for several days, and will likely send 2-3 days distinct spokes of active weather across California during this period,” Swain wrote in the blog post.
The storm will last several days, the blog states, but will escalate toward the middle and end of next week.
“A large portion” of California will experience about 20% to 40% chance of heavy precipitation, NWS Sacramento announced on X.
Which California regions will experience rain?
The Northern Coast, Klamath and Sierra Nevada mountains have a 40% to 60% chance of heavy precipitation and possible snow at higher elevations, the Weather Prediction Center announced in an X post.
Southern California can expect about 1 to 3 inches of rain starting Tuesday along with temperatures in the low 60s all next week, The San Luis Obispo Tribune reported.
California’s Central Valley has a probability of heavy rain from Tuesday until Thursday and temperatures ranging in the low 60s, according to The Weather Channel.
The coastal areas have a probability of about 1 to 3 inches of rain from Tuesday to Thursday.
Northern California, including Sacramento, is predicted to get about 2 or more inches of rain with daytime highs in the low 60s and nighttime temperatures in the 40s.
Is this rain a result of El Niño?
The Weather West blog post stated that this rain is a result of the ongoing event, El Niño.
El Niño is a climate pattern that occurs when sea surface temperatures change from their norm near the Pacific Ocean’s equator, The Sacramento Bee previously reported.
This can affect rain and wind patterns across California.
This likely isn’t the worst California will see this rainy season.
“The present event will peak sometime between December and February,” Swain’s blog states.
This story was originally published November 11, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
