Josh Rubenstein's Weather Forecast (Dec. 11)
STUDIO CITY (CBSLA.com) — Well this storm continues to get more interesting as we get closer to the event. I think in one sentence I will describe this as short, but powerful.
The light rain will begin later this afternoon through northern reaches of Ventura County and then that light warm front rain will spread into the LA area. This will be basically a light drizzle.
The winds will pick up as the front approaches as well.
Look for advisory, and possibly warning, level winds to push through the area as the front passes in the overnight hours. That would mean wind gusts at 6o to possibly 70 miles an hour, especially in the Antelope Valley.
The worst of this storm will hit us while most of the Southland is sleeping. Look for about 3 or 4 hours of a heavy burst of wind and rain. Timing looks like 1:00 am to 4:00 or 5:00 am.
Rainfall amounts look to be on track for 1 to 2 inches in the valleys and basin while mountains will see closer to 4 or 5 inches. This will be significant as the last system we saw those same totals over a 36-hour period; this will be over a 7 or 8-hour period.
Snow levels will start out pretty high at 7,000 feet but as the cold air arrives later in the day we will see it drop down to 5,000 feet. Some spots could see it as low as 4,000 feet, but I don't think it will be enough to shut down the Grapevine.
Accumulations at resort level are impressive at nearly 12 inches.
Once that heavy band of rain passes in the early hours, we will be left with scattered showers through the day. Because of the unstable nature of this system, those brief showers could become sporadic downpours very quickly.
Look for things to dry out overnight Friday into Saturday with only mountain communities under the threat of snow showers early Saturday morning.
The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. has given us a marginal chance at severe weather. Marginal is the lowest order of warning, however the very fact that we are showing up in their discussion is significant as 99 percent of the time we do not have any mention from the Storm Prediction Center.
The best chance for this severe activity will be during that frontal passage overnight. There will be a good chance for waterspouts and if those waterspouts were to come on shore, they would be very low level tornadoes.
