Tracking big changes this week

Happy Monday! It's a lovely start to the week with sunny skies, near-normal temperatures, and minimal winds. It will stay on the warmer side overnight. Temperatures are still on the rise through tomorrow. Enjoy the weather we have now, as there are a number of big changes in the forecast.

As mentioned before, temperatures will be a bit warmer tomorrow. Tuesday will be the warmest day of the week. Let's get an understanding of the weather pattern nearby. There's a ridge of high pressure toward our south/southwest and there's an upper-level trough of low pressure off the coast. There's also Tropical Storm Mario off the coast of Baja California. As TS Mario weakens, some of its moisture will get picked up by the trough of low pressure. This will funnel much of that moisture into Southern California as early as Tuesday. Humidity levels will begin to notably rise heading into Wednesday morning, if not earlier. In terms of rain chances, there is a small chance for some localized showers over the mountains on Tuesday afternoon. Rain/storm chances for the Coachella Valley increase for Wednesday, but still remain on the lower side. Thursday is the day with the biggest chance for rain. As a result, a First Alert Weather Alert had been issued for Thursday.

Tomorrow will be warmer with the potential for a few clouds and a stray shower over the mountains. Rain chances and humidity increase for Wednesday and increase again for Thursday. It will be clearer and warmer for this upcoming weekend.