California rain ramping up as atmospheric river begins

LOS ANGELES - A very powerful storm system off the coast of the Northwest U.S. has rapidly intensified, and now it’s providing a steady stream of rain and snow in Northern California. This stream is known as an atmospheric river, and it’ll hold over Northern California through Thursday and somewhat into Friday.

Flood watches, along with numerous other types of weather alerts, are in effect in Northern California, where widespread rain totals over five inches are possible, and perhaps as much as 15 inches.

Meanwhile, Southern California remains on track to possibly start seeing some rain Saturday. However, Sunday appears to be the day when rain likely becomes more widespread and heavier. NOAA’s 7-day rain outlook suggests local average rain totals could be between half an inch and one inch.

The weekend forecast certainly isn’t a lock just yet, though. The weather setup on this event is complex as multiple lows are likely to coexist near each other off the coast of the Northwest U.S. That means they will interact with each other, and those interactions will affect how Southern California’s weekend weather pans out. In fact, more rain could even be possible beyond the weekend. Keep checking back with us this week as we continue to refine the forecast.