Storm to bring a return of wet weather to Southern California, Desert Southwest

By Brandon Buckingham, AccuWeather Meteorologist

WINTER WEATHER Updated Feb. 22, 2020 10:39 AM

Most of the storm systems this winter season have taken aim at the Pacific Northwest, but a storm system set to track into the California coastline will break the trend this weekend.

On average, more than 3 inches of rain falls over Los Angeles during the month of February, but so far only a trace has been reported. Similarly in places like San Diego, Las Vegas and Phoenix, only a fraction of rainfall compared to normal has been observed so far this month.

February is typically the wettest month across many Southwestern cities, so when the rain doesn't tally up, it can spell troubling times for the upcoming dry season. Luckily, the storm system set to bring wet weather to the region this weekend will help alleviate some of those concerns by helping to reduce the rainfall deficit.

A dip in the jet stream began tracking over the Southern California coastline Friday night, bringing a wave of wet weather.

This storm system is not expected to bring a washout to places like Los Angeles or San Diego by any means, but a general 0.05 to 0.25 of an inch of rainfall is expected for many of the coastal Southern California valleys.

With the exception of a bit of snow expected in the southern Sierra, this storm system will largely miss the mountain range. As of Feb. 19, the entire Sierra Nevada Mountain Range has only observed slightly over 50% of snowfall compared to average.

A major difference from last year, when a seemingly never-ending train of storm systems took aim at the mountains.

NWS Sacramento

✔@NWSSacramento

What a difference a year makes! Left: 2019, Right: 2020. Sierra snow pack is below normal for this time of year, at about 58% statewide. Dry weather is expected to continue. #CAwx

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11:12 PM - Feb 17, 2020

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The more impactful weather on Saturday will likely take aim across Arizona and southern Nevada as moisture is pulled northward from the Pacific Ocean. A steady rain along with a few embedded thunderstorms could lead to areas of localized flooding for places like Phoenix, Tucson and even Flagstaff during the day on Saturday.

NASCAR fans will once again be keeping a close eye on the sky as Saturday's rain could disrupt events scheduled at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, including qualifying and the Xfinity series race. This comes just one week after rain caused multiple delays leading up to, and during, the Daytona 500.

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The weather may even play a role in the Nevada Democratic caucuses in Las Vegas and other southern cities Saturday as rain moves into the area. The storm system should only target southern portions of the state with rain and high-elevation snow, leaving Reno and Elko, Nevada, dry during the day.

The storm system is expected to expand eastward into the Four Corners region by Saturday night. By this time, most of the wet weather will be done in Southern California as the storm moves inland.

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It has been a fairly active winter season across portions of the Intermountain West, including Utah's Wasatch Range. According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Utah, most reporting sites are between 100-150% of average annual snowfall across the basin.

This storm system will continue to add to the seasonal snow totals across central and southern Utah Saturday evening through the day on Sunday.

Given the track of the storm, rain and snow will likely stay south of places like Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. However, a general 1-3 inches of snow is forecast to fall on the Colorado Rockies and may include part of the Denver metro area. An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 8 inches is forecast for the central and southern Rockies and Wasatch Range.

As the storm tracks eastward, portions of the Interstate 25 corridor in Colorado and New Mexico could face travel issues courtesy of the storm system overhead.

Rain and mountain snow will begin to taper off across the Four Corners region through the day on Sunday as the storm system is expected to track out of the Front Range and into the Plains.

In the wake of this storm system, conditions look to be cool and dry early next week. Moderating temperatures and dry weather may continue through much of the week as an area of high pressure is expected to set up shop across the Southwest.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.