The final weekend of 2023 may end with a bang in parts of the Inland Empire as thunderstorms move through the region, generated by back-to-back storm systems, according to the National Weather Service.
The agency said several troughs of low pressure originating from the Gulf of Alaska will trigger the atmospheric instability.
“Showers will move in from the west as early as (Friday) night and should move to our east by early Sunday morning,” according to an NWS statement. “Current precipitation estimates are for one- to three-tenths of an inch for … valleys, with higher totals favored for northern areas. Thunderstorms could produce locally higher rainfall amounts.”
The Riverside metropolitan area could be on the receiving end of isolated thunderstorms anytime between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday. Rainfall chances are up to 80%, the Weather Service stated.
The first trough will traverse the region Saturday and gradually exit to the east Sunday morning, followed immediately afterward by a weaker trough “that will bring another round of mostly light precipitation,” according to the NWS.
“Snow totals will be less than an inch at 6,000 feet, up to about three inches on the higher peaks of the San Bernardino Mountains,” the agency said.
Temperatures will drop with the onset of the instability, according to meteorologists.
Daytime highs in the Riverside metropolitan area Saturday will peak just below 60 degrees, with overnight lows in the mid-40s. The temperature band will be largely the same Sunday and Monday.
In the Coachella Valley, the highs Saturday and Sunday will top out in the mid 60s, and nighttime temps will be in the upper 40s. The mercury will climb back up to 70 degrees Monday, down to the upper 40s Monday night.
Rainfall chances in the desert areas are much lower.
The Temecula Valley’s temperature range will be virtually identical to the Riverside area’s for the weekend and going into early next week.
There will be a drying out regionally Tuesday, with another storm system set to arrive on Wednesday, forecasters said.