Rain Headed to San Diego, Phoenix

By , Senior Meteorologist
Mar 6, 2010; 2:31 PM ET
Share |

The storm set to spread rain over the nation's midsection early next week will first take aim at the Southwest this weekend.

After a few showers start the weekend, steadier rain will push into Southern California Saturday night. The rain will continue into Sunday, when it will also spread over the deserts of southeastern California and Arizona.

The rain will wet San Diego, Palm Springs, Yuma and Phoenix.

Widespread flash flooding is not expected. Localized problems may ensue, especially in the deserts. Low-lying areas and washes would be the first to flood.

The heaviest rain will stay south of Los Angeles and the Angeles National Forest, where the Station Fire charred land last autumn. The potential of a drenching shower triggering an isolated mudslide in the recently burned areas cannot be ruled out Saturday night.

Spotty thunderstorms also threaten to ruin outdoor plans across Southern California and Arizona. Be sure to seek shelter immediately if you hear thunder. Any thunderstorm will spark potentially deadly lightning.

Isolated funnel clouds have and could continue to be sighted along the Southern California coastline Saturday night.

Enough cold air will be present for substantial snow in the mountains east of San Diego and over the highest peaks in central Arizona tonight into Sunday.

The snow threatens to cause travel disruptions around Flagstaff, especially later Sunday.

Comments

Comments left here should adhere to the AccuWeather.com Community Guidelines. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.

More Weather News

Daily U.S. Extremes

past 24 hours

  Extreme Location
High 82° Gila Bend, AZ
Low -13° Clayton Lake, ME
Precip 1.24" Spanish Fork, UT

WeatherWhys®

The "Dead of Winter," the one-month period when normal temperatures reach their lowest levels, has come to an end for much of the United States. Some people may find it odd that the "Dead of Winter" does not encompass the darkest day of the year (the first day of winter). That is due to a seasonal lag in temperatures. More heat continues to be lost than is gained from the start of winter until this time of year.

This Day In Weather History

Gulf Coast 1 (899)
ry cold morning along Gulf Coast; New Orleans 6.8 deg.; Mobile -1 deg.; Pensacola 7 deg.; Tallahassee -2 deg (All time record for Florida. Brownsville 12 deg. (all time low).

North Dakota 1 (936)
this date the mercury plummeted to -60 deg. at Parshall, ND - the coldest temperature ever for the State of ND. Later the same year, the mercury soared to 121 deg. at Steele, ND - the hottest temperature ever for the state of ND.

Loading...

2/13/2012 5:38:26 AM /news-entry.asp 5 .75.116 (accuweather)-- [new]