Storm drops quarter-inch of rain in 10 minutes; snow falls in mountains

Over the weekend, a series of storms made landfall and briefly triggered flash flood watches for Ventura County foothill communities that sit below areas scorched in the 2014 Colby fire.

At one point, hillsides received about a quarter of an inch of rain in 10 to 20 minutes, said Dave Bruno, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

“It was really quite intense. They would be the locations under the gun for shower activity today,” Bruno said. “It’s really hit or miss.”

Some areas of the San Gabriel Mountains saw more than 2 inches of rain Sunday, the National Weather Service reported. Mountains in San Diego County had nearly 2 1/2 inches of rain. Flash flood watches in effect across San Diego and Orange counties expired at about 4 a.m. Monday.

As the rain was coming down in some parts of Southern California, snow was making some local ski resorts happy. Mountain High resort in Wrightwood was dusted with 7 to 10 inches, and Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes received 9 to 12 inches. Bear Mountain and Snow Summit in Big Bear reported 6 inches.

Meanwhile, runoff from the storm may affect local beaches, county health officials said.

Officials advised beach goers to be aware of bacteria, debris and trash while swimming. The advisory for local beaches will remain in effect until 7 a.m. Thursday.

The storms are isolated, so not everyone across the Southland will see rainfall Monday, Bruno said. By the evening, the rain is expected to have moved out of the area, leaving Angelenos dry until more rain comes in over the weekend, he said.

Temperatures are expected to remain cool Monday before it begins to warm up into Wednesday. Then the temperatures will drop by the weekend, Bruno said.

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