Tracking mild weather ahead of a wet Christmas

Good morning. It is a gorgeous day here in the Coachella Valley. It's cool this morning, but temperatures will gradually rise to roughly 80°F this afternoon. Winds are calm, and the air is dry (for now).

Looking ahead to the middle of the week, we see a BIG change. An area of lowpressure will move south and bring a moderate atmospheric river into Southern California. Rain totals are a little up in the air still, but more than an inch of rain for the Coahclella Valley is certainly in the picture. Snow levels will be quite high, staying around 8,000 feet. Clouds and some light rainfall may begin as early as Tuesday evening, but the main day for precipitation will be Wednesday. There will be some lingering precipitation into Thursday as well.

A First Alert Weather Alert will be in place for Wednesday and Thursday as we track some wet weather across the region. It will be cooler, cloudier, and wetter this week overall.