Warmer weather on tap for Southern California after weekend of storms

Temperatures are expected to rise across Southern California over the next few days, bringing warmer and quieter weather to the region after weekend storms that forced evacuations in San Bernardino County.

“It’s going to be pretty warm” by Wednesday, Mike Wofford, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard, said Monday. “We’ll notice a decent jump tomorrow, probably 5 degrees warmer [than Monday], and then another 5 degrees or so Wednesday.”

Forecasts show temperatures peaking in the low 90s by Wednesday, part of a “gradual warm-up” that will span the region, from the coast and into the valleys. Highs on Wednesday are expected to be about 10 or 15 degrees above average for this time of year, according to the National Weather Service.

Highs will reach into the low 80s Monday, Wofford said.

Wofford said the weather Monday and through the week would be “pretty quiet” compared with weekend storms and rains that forced evacuation orders in parts of San Bernardino County over concerns of possible mudslides or debris flows.

The evacuation order was issued Saturday afternoon for communities in the El Dorado and Apple fire burn scars, including Oak Glen, Forest Falls and Mountain Home Village, but the order was lifted by Sunday afternoon.

The brunt of the storms and rains hit east of Los Angeles County, mostly in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, which had many areas under a flood watch through Sunday morning. But some eastern L.A. County cities, such as Pomona, saw warnings of hail and high winds Saturday.

“Mountain areas saw the most precipitation,” said Casey Oswant, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s San Diego office. “Even the deserts saw pretty good precipitation accumulation.”

Eastern Riverside County and parts of Imperial County saw about 2 inches of rain Saturday, and Oswant said there were some reports in Riverside of flooding and debris on roadways.

After Wednesday, Oswant said, the region should see a cooling off through the weekend.