Some are calling it the biggest storm of the year and it’s set to hit California starting today, but it won’t be bringing much in the way of rain to the Coachella Valley.
“This is the biggest storm of the season. The most rain we’re going to see out of any other storm this winter,” Eric Boldt of the National Weather Service’s Oxnard station told ABC 7. “Some of the (Santa Barbara) mountains could get 5 -10 inches of rain.”
Widespread heavy #rain is possible Wed into Thu. Potential for flooding & hazardous travel conditions. Snow levels above 8000 ft during the heaviest precip, then lower late Thurs. Stay tuned to https://t.co/yyyf2evkI2 for updates as timing & precip amounts may change! #cawx pic.twitter.com/35ZmETx0wW
— NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) March 18, 2018
A pre-evacuation advisory has been issued to at-risk areas affected by wildfires in Santa Barbara County. The advisory gives residents 72 hours to be ready for any evacuation orders that may arise from flooding or mudslides from the storm.
The storm will also be be bringing showers to the rest of Southern California – with forecasters at the National Weather Service calling for parts of Orange County set to receive 2 to 3 inches, the San Diego Coast 1 to 2 inches, and the Coachella Valley .25 to 1 inch of rain.
A low pressure system and associated with a strong atmospheric river will impact California Tuesday through Friday. The greatest rainfall and impacts are anticipated in SoCal Wednesday night into Thursday, though light showers are possible as early as Tuesday.#CAwx #CAstorm pic.twitter.com/bjyJutusMa
— NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) March 19, 2018
Locally, however, weather guesser Jerry Steffen is not predicting much in the way of showers in the desert.
Coachella Valley Area Rainfall Estimates!
A wet Pacific storm system will pull in lots of subtropical moisture over California this week. Best chance of SoCal showers will be Wednesday but more-so on Thursday. Heaviest totals will be in our mountains.@KESQ pic.twitter.com/h3qjXsAPEb— Jerry Steffen™ KESQ (@JerrySteffen) March 20, 2018
Steffen is calling for just a trace of rain in the west valley and nothing at all east of Cathedral City.
The best chance of getting showers – if there are showers – in the Coachella Valley is Wednesday night through Thursday morning.
