Rainstorm could be Los Angeles' wettest in 2 years

Rainstorm could be Los Angeles’ wettest in 2 years

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Cattle rancher Rob Frost stands by the remains of one of this cattle that died on grazing land near Santa Paula. Frost says that in an ordinary year he will lose 1% of his cattle to natural causes but that he is now losing near 10%. There is no natural grass for his cattle to eat. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Larry White, on his horse Zeke, wrangles calves belonging to cattle rancher Rob Frost near Santa Paula so that Frost can give them medicine. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Cattle rancher Rob Frost administers medicine and puts a ear tag on one of his calves near Santa Paula as his wife, Margaret, watches and Larry White has a rope on it. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Rodrigo Leon, left, and Hernando Echabarria put up a fence around the edge of a field near Five Points, an unincorporated community in Fresno County, for fourth-generation rancher Ryan Indart. They will later move Indart’s sheep to graze on the field of alfalfa -- land that he leases. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Ryan Indart stands at his family farm in Clovis, Calif. He says he planted seeds for winter wheat in this field, which he depends on to feed the farm’s sheep. But the lack of rain this season has reduced to dirt. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Ryan Indart’s sheep roam in a field near Five Points, an unincorporated community in Fresno County. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Ryan Indart holds two newborn lambs in Clovis, Calif., as he kneels next to his daughters Cecilia, left, and Lucia. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Ryan Indart has already sent 10% of his 4,000 ewes -- which he normally would want to keep -- to the slaughterhouse because he can’t afford the hay to feed them. Above, a field in Clovis, Calif. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Ryan Indart holds dry grass at one of his family’s fields in Clovis, Calif. As California’s punishing drought drags on, ranchers are among the first to feel the pain. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

By Rong-Gong Lin II

Feb. 23, 2014 5:10 PM PT

Get ready, L.A. -- the winter storms headed to Los Angeles this week could be the wettest in two years.

The first storm, expected to hit Wednesday evening, could bring as much as a quarter of an inch of rain to Los Angeles County and leave by Thursday morning. A stronger second storm will arrive in time for the Friday afternoon commute and power through Saturday, dousing the coast and valleys with 1 to 2 inches of rain and as much as 4 inches in the mountains.

“It’s been … years” since this much rain has come to Los Angeles, said National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Sukup. The last time this much rain has come to Los Angeles was on March 25, 2012, when 0.91 inches of precipitation fell in downtown.

How long ago was that? That was the same weekend the first “Hunger Games” movie came out. Mitt Romney still had not clinched the Republican nomination for president. The latest iPhone on the market was the iPhone 4S.

The storm systems will sweep in from the north and douse most of the state. For the mountains, snow and strong wind is forecast Friday into Saturday, and snow levels could drop to 5,000 feet by Saturday.

The winter storm will sweep away the 70-degree temperatures the region has enjoyed, with temps dropping to the low to mid 60s. Overnight lows could dip into the upper 40s. For the Academy Awards on March 2, forecasters say there is a 40% chance of showers, with highs in the 60s.

Forecasters warned that the second storm could produce flooding and powerful flows of mud and debris cascading from fire-scarred hillsides.

And how little rain have we received? Just 1.2 inches since July 1. The average is 10.45 inches by this time of year.

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ron.lin@latimes.com