Wind, Rain, Snow, oh my
RIVERSIDE (CNS) – Cold moist air is forecast across the Inland Empire going into the weekend, bringing the first chances of measurable precipitation this winter — but not before additional blasts of Santa Ana winds whip the region, according to the National Weather Service.
A red flag warning that had been set to expire Thursday evening was extended to Friday morning by the NWS, and the agency posted a high wind warning from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday.
Offshore winds, however, returned with strength Wednesday afternoon, with Riverside Municipal Airport reporting average speeds of 18 mph, gusting to 30 mph as of 1 p.m.
“Through Wednesday night, there will be northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts to 45 to 55 mph,” the NWS said in a statement. “Winds will increase for Thursday, with northeast winds of 30 to 40 mph and gusts to 60 to 70 mph, with isolated gusts of 75 to 85 mph (in mountainous areas).”
Relative humidity levels are predicted to remain in the single digits until Friday night throughout the extremely dry inland region.
Meteorologists said a trough of low pressure diving out of Canada will sweep across virtually all of California, arriving over the southern half of the state Saturday morning, when the first signs of precipitation will likely appear.
More than one trough is expected to be trundling over the area, slowly tracking to the east at the start of next week.
“The highest chances of one-quarter inch or more of precipitation are Saturday evening into Sunday evening, with 65% chances in the mountains and 35 to 45% chance for the inland valleys,” the NWS stated. “This is expected to be a cold system with snow levels of 4,500 to 5,000 feet on Saturday afternoon, which will fall to around 3,500 on Sunday. Chances for 12 inches or more of snowfall in the mountains for the weekend are around 80% for elevations above 7,000 feet.”
The storm system could linger into Monday night before sliding into Arizona.
Daytime temperatures in the Riverside metropolitan area from Wednesday to Friday will peak in the mid-70s, dropping into the mid-40s during the night. This weekend, the mercury will hover in the upper 50s, with nighttime lows in the upper 30s.
In the Coachella Valley, temps will also make it into the mid-70s from Wednesday to Friday, followed by lows in the mid-40s. Saturday and Sunday, however, the highs will top out in the low to mid-60s, and back down to the mid- 40s at night.
In the Temecula Valley, the Wednesday-to-Friday temperature band is almost identical to Riverside metro, but through the weekend, the overnight lows in Riverside County’s southwest pocket may drop to freezing, according to the NWS.
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