Tracking big changes as a beautiful weekend wraps up
THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – Today marked the official start of winter and the shortest day of the year with the Winter Solstice! It's been gorgeous throughout the Coachella Valley, both with the eye test and our temperatures in the mid 70s. All good things come to an end, though. We're tracking major changes for our region as we monitor a round of storms arriving by Christmas Eve.
Expect a great start to the week. Highs on Monday stay comfortable, likely in the mid to upper 70s. This is all ahead of a bigger cooldown throughout the week.
We've been closely monitoring our forecast models for the incoming storms. Latest guidance from the National Weather Service (NWS) tells us we could begin experiencing heavy rainfall by Tuesday evening, though our FutureTrack models still positions most of the activity well off to our west until early Wednesday morning (1:00 a.m. and beyond).
The heaviest rainfall chances arrive Wednesday (Christmas Eve). Lingering rainfall is possible Christmas Day, but to a lesser extent compared to Tuesday/Wednesday. Those shower chances linger all the way through Sunday.
Current estimates place us in the ballpark of 0.5" to 1.5" of rain. The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for the Coachella Valley from Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. to Wednesday at 10:00 p.m. This advisory encompasses practically the entirety of Southern California as we brace for widespread rainfall.
Temperatures continue falling this week, much like Santa as he climbs down the chimney. Highs finally return to seasonal (upper 60s) for Christmas Eve and beyond.
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