Showers move through SoCal; sunnier weather expected Friday

A chain of showers was making its way across southern and eastern portions of Los Angeles County on Thursday morning.

Residents in an area that includes Long Beach, downtown L.A. and Burbank have been dealing with rainy weather since early in the day -- and it is expected to continue drizzling throughout the morning, said David Sweet, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

“Shower after shower after shower lines up in a long line of showers, and they keep moving over the same area,” Sweet said.

The line is moving northward, and its emphasis will change toward the mountains and deserts in the afternoon, he said.

The above-normal rain levels are the result of upper-level winds importing moisture from monsoonal activity near Mexico, Sweet said. That activity combined with moisture from tropical system Eric to increase the amount of wet air flowing toward California.

Dry air in the lower atmosphere caused much of the rain to evaporate before it hit the ground, but some of the stronger showers pushed through that dry level to produce “light to moderate” rain, Sweet said.

Highs Thursday are expected to be in the 80s to around 90 in the valleys, the lower 70s at the beaches and the lower to mid-80s downtown.

Most areas have a 40% chance of rain, Sweet said.

Friday’s weather should be sunnier, but temperatures are expected to remain about the same, forecasters said.

ALSO:

Man arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure in East L.A.

Relative of missing 11-year-old boy arrested after body found

Asiana crash 911 tapes: ‘There are no ambulances,’ woman says

Twitter/@emfoxhall

emily.foxhall@latimes.com