Transitioning to Cooler & Breezier Conditions with Significant Rain On the Way
Big changes on the way for the Coachella Valley and the entire Southwest as a strong Pacific storm system moves closer to the west close. It’ll be a big switch from our sunny and unusually warm stretch that we’ve started November with.
This evening is pleasant and lovely. Temps in the low 90s and upper 80s this afternoon with mostly cloudy skies, enjoy this last little stretch before an atmospheric moisture moves in late week and this weekend. We’re watching winds beginning to pick up tonight and Thursday as the system approaches—though wind speeds don’t look quite as dramatic as earlier models suggested.
We’ll see more clouds and breezy winds Thursday. Wind Advisories are scattered across Central California, though we are not seeing any wind advisories locally. That said, the Coachella Valley is still looking at wind speeds 25-35mph, with stronger gusts in the mountain passes.
The First Alert Weather Team has issued an alert for Friday and Saturday:
We’ll start to see that first push and arrival of moisture as early Friday morning. That’s when we can expect the leading edge of the storm to move in, bringing a good chance of scattered rain showers and dramatically cooler temperatures, dropping about 15 degrees in 24 hours. From last Sunday to Friday, that difference is closer to 25 degrees! Get ready it’s going to finally feel like Fall.
There’s still a lot of uncertainty in models as far as rainfall accumulations—but the mountains and high desert will see higher rain totals than the rest of us here in the valley—where we could still see some significant amounts ranging from 02.5-0.50”. This is a decent amount of rain for us. With higher amounts expected north we’re very likely going to see some traffic impacts and localized flooding.
Heavier rainfall has the potential to develop Saturday along with a slim chance of thunderstorms. Altogether, rain totals by the end of the weekend could range between 0.25-0.75”! We begin to dry out Sunday, though spotty showers will still linger as our slow moving low gradually exits the area.
Looks like temperatures will remain in the 70s, below average early to mid next week.
More uncertainty arrives next week with the potential for high pressure to dry us out and warm us up, or another new storm system moves back into the region. Bottom line: lots of changes. Stay tuned. If you haven’t downloaded the KESQ First Alert Weather App that’s a great way to get updates in the palm of your hand.
