It’s cool and clear – and then there’s the wonderful swing of SoCal weather
Drizzle could dampen Southern California on Monday and Tuesday before a heat wave arrives in time for Mother’s Day weekend — potentially pushing temperatures into the 90s in downtown LA on Sunday.
Light rain is possible across the mountains east of the San Gabriel and neighboring mountains and along the Central Coast, but totals should stay under a quarter of an inch, the National Weather Service office in Oxnard said, “with many areas receiving light rain.”
Expect cloudy and cooler conditions, similar to a “deep ocean-like layer,” the weather service said. “Temperatures will remain below normal with highs in the 60s.”
Downtown LA and Burbank could top out at 67 degrees on Monday. That’s below the May 4 average of 73 in the city, and Burbank’s average of 75, according to meteorologist Andrew Rorke of the weather service’s office in Oxnard.
Elsewhere on Monday, San Clemente could have a high of 64 degrees; Los Angeles Airport and Escondido, 66; Oceanside, Ontario, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego, 67; Anaheim, 68; Long Beach and Irvine, 69; and Woodland Hills, 70.
Up to one-tenth of an inch of rain between Monday night and Tuesday afternoon is possible in Orange County, the Inland Empire and San Diego. Some parts of San Diego County could get more, like Oceanside, which could get about one-third of an inch of rain.
There is a chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms in the Sierra Nevada and Central Valley on Monday and Tuesday, and snow in some mountains in Mono County. The San Francisco Bay Area also has a slight chance of light rain and drizzle, with heavy downpours — up to half an inch — possible in the North Bay from Monday night into Tuesday morning.
Temperatures begin to warm on Wednesday, and the heat will be in full blast on Friday. On Mother’s Day, there is about a 50% chance of 90-degree temperatures in downtown LA, and 100 degrees in neighboring counties.
San Diego valleys can have highs in the 80s; the Middle Kingdom, about 90; and low deserts, above 100 degrees, the weather service office in San Diego said.
That’s enough for an average risk, throughout Southern California, of heat-related illness in pets, livestock and heat-sensitive people.
On Saturday, the Central Valley could experience temperatures in the 90s, with Bakersfield and Fresno hitting 92; Sacramento, 91; and Stockton, 90.
On Mother’s Day, the San Francisco Bay coastline may reach highs in the 70s to mid-80s, while Silicon Valley and the inland East Bay reach the low 90s.
Starting Tuesday just east of the California North Coast, there is a slight chance of thunderstorms. Along the North Coast, warmer than average temperatures are expected to arrive later this week.
California is expected to experience above average temperatures in early May.
(Weather forecasting agency)
Expect the heat to continue. Temperatures in California are expected to be above average during May, according to the Climate Prediction Center.
That would follow the hottest March on record for California, along with nine other states — Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming — according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. It was also the hottest March in the United States combined in 132 years of record keeping.
