New Storm Developing Off Northern California

Showers and rain are expected to dampen Southern California today before giving way to partly sunny skies in the afternoon, as a new Pacific storm develops off the northern part of the state.

The storm, which originated in the Gulf of Alaska, is expected to hit the Los Angeles area Monday morning and drop about an inch of rain. The weather system also is expected to bring thunderstorms to the area and blanket local mountains with a fresh coat of snow.

“It’s not going to be major in terms of moisture, but it will be windy and cold,” said meteorologist John Sherwin of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

By Tuesday morning, he said, the snow level could drop as low as 2,500 feet in the Tehachapi, San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains of Southern California.

“I think the [ski] resorts will be fun,” Sherwin said. “They should be all snow.”

The storm is expected to drop up to 2 inches of rain in Northern California, where rains earlier in the week caused mudslides, overflowed the Petaluma River and forced officials to evacuate scores of homes.

State flood-fighting crews remained in Petaluma on Saturday, sandbagging a mobile home park near the river, authorities said. Crews also were reinforcing low-lying areas such as Suisun City in Solano County and other parts of the California Delta.

So far, according to preliminary estimates by the state office of emergency services, 12 people have died of storm-related causes across the state, and more than $475 million in damage has been reported.

By Tuesday afternoon, California should begin drying out and experience sunny skies and slightly warmer temperatures at least through Thursday, said meteorologist Sherwin.

“It’s looking good,” he said. “The weather pattern is changing over the Pacific.”