Warm & Pleasant Before Stormy Shift Late Week

A nice and warm Veteran’s Day across the Coachella Valley this evening. We’ve had temperatures running about 10 degrees warmer than normal and a mix of blue sky and clouds for a number of Veteran’s Day events and parades today around the desert.

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed our gorgeous summer-like weather the first half of November because we’re about to see a big shift in the weather pattern, including a dramatic drop in temperatures, gusty winds and even some decent rain chances across California before the week is over. 

Tonight and Wednesday expect to see some added clouds filtering in from the northwest, this has helped keep temperatures a degree or two cooler. Wednesday still stays warm and above average though.

Daytime highs will stay nice and warm through mid week but Thursday brings a strong storm from the Pacific Northwest. This storm will sweep into Southern California, kicking up winds—especially in the passes and our wind-prone communities. It’ll also funnel some moisture into the Desert Southwest. We’re watching a closed low off the coast funneling in enough moisture around our ridge of high pressure to allow enough moisture for cloud formation.

That low pressure system is going to inch closer to the West tomorrow as our trough deepens offshore. This will increase onshore flow and begin dropping temperatures. As of Tuesday afternoon, winds look like they’ll be strengthening Thursday afternoon and evening. We could see gusts 25-40mph, with gusts closer to 40-50mph in the passes.

Models are still evolving as to the arrival of showers, though some high res models are showing precipitation arriving a little later, currently late Thursday and Friday morning.

Currently rain rates look as high as 0.50-0.75” with the highest amounts in the passes. Snow levels do look like they’ve risen a bit higher today, but widespread rain could led to flooding and risk of mudslides. 

One this storm rolls through, our weekend looks cooler, but unsettled, with some lingering showers possible Saturday and daytime highs in the low to mid 70s. That’s roughly 20-25 degrees cooler than our record high, 95 last Sunday. Looks like we'll continue into the 70s through the extended forecast as well.

So put the tank tops away and start pulling out the sweaters! A more active pattern arrives mid to late November.