Overview

• National Weather Service flood watches cover Southern California’s mountains and deserts and extend into parts of the Central Valley and Sierra, including Los Angeles, Bakersfield and Fresno.
• Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed Wednesday, with the most impactful downpours expected Thursday and activity tapering into Friday before drier conditions return for the weekend.
• Forecast rainfall generally ranges from a few tenths of an inch up to around 1 inch, with locally 2 inches in the mountains or within slow-moving cells that could train over the same areas.
• Wildfire burn scars such as the Palisades and Eaton fire areas face elevated debris-flow risk as the Weather Prediction Center flags a low-confidence but high-impact pattern.
• Local First Alert and Action Day advisories are in effect, with Imperial County under a Flood Watch and the Coachella Valley on alert; Northern California is expected to see rain and scattered lightning Thursday night into a potentially wet Friday morning commute alongside cooler temperatures.