A storm system dropped consistent widespread rainfall across Southern California Tuesday morning, March 21, but there may be a slight reprieve before another round of rain falls in the late afternoon or early evening, forecasters said.
Most areas in Los Angeles and Orange counties and the Inland Empire had received roughly an inch of rain through 10 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.
In the mountains, Mt. Baldy had received 7 inches of snow, while Mt. Wilson got around 4 and a half inches, Meteorologist Mike Wofford said.
In the San Bernardino Mountains, 3 to 6 of snow had accumulated, Meteorologist Casey Oswant said.
However, the storm has not led to any calls for service for folks in the Lake Arrowhead area that was buried by snow in late February and early March, San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesman Eric Sherwin said.
People cross Walnut Avenue near Irvine High School in Irvine, on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“We’re staffed and ready,” Sherwin said. “We do have extra resources pre-positioned in addition to our normal staffing” including swift water crews and hand crews.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, known locally as the Yucaipa Police Department, announced Monday evening that the communities of Oak Glen, Forest Falls, Mountain Home Village, Angelus Oaks, and Northeast Yucaipa were under an evacuation warning because of potential mudflows. The communities are in the El Dorado and Apple fire burn scar areas.
RELATED: Evacuation warnings in place for burn scar areas in Yucaipa
“The bigger concern for this storm is the wind,” Sherwin said. “Because the hillsides are saturated, the trees aren’t as stable as normal and if they’re subjected to wind gusts, there’s the potential for a tree to come down and block a roadway or threaten a structure.”
Wind gusts had been recorded in Orange County between 20 and 45 mph with the potential for more, Oswant said. The Inland Empire was not quite as intense, with wind gusts between 25 and 35 mph
Wofford said Los Angeles County could see a break in rainfall until the mid- to late afternoon, but it’ll pick up again with showers and some possible isolated thunderstorms through Wednesday.
Another estimated half-inch of rainfall was anticipated, Wofford said.
“By tomorrow afternoon or tomorrow evening, it will definitely be on the decreasing end,” he said. “Thursday through the weekend look dry.”
Some areas in inland and south Orange County had seen close to 1 and a half inches of rain, including Anaheim, Laguna Niguel and San Juan Capistrano, Oswant said.
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In Orange County and the Inland Empire, forecasters were not ruling out the possibility of showers extending into Thursday morning, although Oswant said most of the rainfall after Wednesday afternoon would be seen in the San Bernardino Mountains.
Snow levels could drop as low as 4,500 feet late Wednesday into Thursday, she said.
A flood watch was in effect throughout Orange County and the Inland Empire through the remainder of the storm, Oswant said. A high wind warning was in effect for Orange County and the Santa Ana Mountains through midnight Wednesday.
The winter storms that have battered California, led to a federal emergency declaration for many counties in the state, including Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties.