Special Weather Statement

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
1245 PM PST TUE JAN 12 2010

CAZ042-043-048-050-055>058-060>062-132200-
ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-
SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS-SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-APPLE AND LUCERNE VALLEYS-
COACHELLA VALLEY-SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS-
1245 PM PST TUE JAN 12 2010

...BIG CHANGES IN THE WEATHER...

THE LONG PERIOD OF WARM AND DRY WEATHER IN SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA IS
ABOUT TO COME TO AN END. A SERIES OF STORMS WILL BRING MORE CLOUDS
ALONG WITH COOLING...WIND...AND PERIODS OF RAIN. SNOW CAN BE
EXPECTED AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS.

THE FIRST RELATIVELY WEAK STORM WILL MOVE THROUGH WEDNESDAY BRINGING
A GOOD CHANCE OF SHOWERS. MOST RAINFALL TOTALS WILL BE LESS THAN A
QUARTER OF AN INCH AND THE SNOW LEVEL WILL LOWER TO AROUND 6000 TO
6500 FEET.

LOCAL STRONG GUSTY ONSHORE WINDS WILL DEVELOP WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
AND NIGHT...MAINLY IN THE MOUNTAINS AND HIGH DESERTS. THE WINDS WILL
TURN OFFSHORE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WITH GUSTY WINDS THROUGH AND BELOW
MOUNTAIN CANYONS AND PASSES.

LARGE WESTERLY SWELL WILL CAUSE VERY LARGE SURF WEDNESDAY THROUGH
FRIDAY. THE COMBINATION OF SURF AND HIGH ASTRONOMICAL TIDES COULD
CAUSE COASTAL EROSION AND FLOODING. THE MOST LIKELY TIMES OF COASTAL
FLOODING WILL BE A FEW HOURS EITHER SIDE OF THE MORNING HIGH
TIDES...OR ROUGHLY BETWEEN 4 AM AND 10 AM WEDNESDAY...THURSDAY...AND
FRIDAY.

THERE WILL BE A BREAK IN THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND...THEN A SERIES OF
STORMS IS EXPECTED TO IMPACT THE AREA DURING THE EARLY TO MIDDLE
PART OF NEXT WEEK. THERE IS STILL A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE
TIMING AND RAINFALL AMOUNTS...BUT THESE STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO
BE QUITE VIGOROUS...AND COULD BRING LARGE RAINFALL TOTALS TO THE
LOWER ELEVATIONS AND HEAVY SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS. RAINFALL
ACCUMULATIONS THROUGH MID WEEK COULD TOTAL SEVERAL INCHES.

IF RAIN DEVELOPS AS EXPECTED THEN THERE WILL BE A POTENTIAL
OF FLASH FLOODING...MUD AND DEBRIS FLOW...ESPECIALLY IN AND BELOW
RECENTLY BURNED AREAS. THE RAIN WILL MAKE ROADS SLICK AND TRAVEL
THROUGH THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE MOUNTAINS COULD BECOME
HAZARDOUS DUE TO SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW.

PEOPLE SHOULD STAY UPDATED WITH THE LATEST FORECASTS. LISTEN TO NOAA
WEATHER RADIO OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/SANDIEGO FOR THE
LATEST UPDATES OF FORECASTS AND WARNINGS.

$$