More showers on the way, but L.A. is still way below average for rainfall

Pull out your umbrellas, Angelenos, it looks like it’s going to be a rainy weekend.

Los Angeles will probably see between one-third and one-half inch of rain from a subtropical storm passing through the region Saturday and early Sunday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Robbie Munroe. The mountains around L.A. could see up to two inches.

Ventura and Santa Barbara counties will probably experience the most rainfall from the storm, Munroe said.

Experts expect between one-half and one inch of rain along the coast and valleys in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, and one to three inches in ocean-facing Ventura County mountains, Munroe said.

Meteorologists do not expect as much rain as last week, when Montecito and nearby communities were spared significant damage from the first significant storm to hit the area since January’s devastating mudslides.

The rain likely won’t come down fast enough to cause mud or debris flows in recent burn areas, even though they are forecast to receive much of the rain, Munroe said. Still, residents in those areas should monitor changes in the forecast, he said.

“These things can change, especially since we’ve had a history of difficulty forecasting storms coming from our south and west,” Munroe said.

Even with the potential for rain two weeks in a row, Los Angeles’ precipitation total will remain well below average. Since October, downtown L.A. has seen 2.48 inches of rainfall, compared to almost 12 inches by now in a typical year.

This storm will also probably bring more snow to the Sierra Nevada, though not as much as last week, when ski areas were struck by avalanches.

“We won’t be measuring it in the multiple feet that we saw” last week, said weather service meteorologist Dan Kozlowski.

And lowlanders should keep the rain boots ready — the rainy weather might continue into next week.

Reach Sonali Kohli at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com or on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli.