PACIFIC STORM TRUMP

January 11, 2019 at 2:34 pm (PST)

DETAILED: Major Pacific Storm TRUMP Starts Off As Category Five; First Section To Hit Tonight into Saturday For Southern California

by Meteorologist Martin

Major Pacific Storm TRUMP is official and will start as a High End Category Five System out of the 1-6 scale here at SCWF as the Martin Storm Pattern of January 2019 strengthens with the first weaker impulse arriving tonight and a deluge of deadly flooding and run-off expected most of the entire week coming up. Understand that tonight into Saturday’s first impulse is weaker and it is NOT the main event. You will be caught off guard if you think that and some of you will think this is weak and for some it will be… but it is only the beginning. Read on for details on tonight into Saturday and some detail on the following week as the burn areas are sure to give way so make your plans to get out now … This may come close to the March 1983 storm amounts around the Los Angeles area with up to 8″ or higher rainfall amounts expected and 10-15 inches in the foothills.

The first impulse is set to arrive tonight for the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County areas. Flood warnings and advisories are in effect from here at Southern California Weather Force. The Flood Warning expands from Santa Barbara to Ventura County and takes the southeast flow into those areas for 1-2 inches of rainfall in a short period of time tonight. The rainfall will wait till around midnight and after for Ventura County, however with the southeast flow into the southern slopes the Flood Warning is needed. There will be a chance of isolated thunderstorms and land-falling waterspouts to small tornadoes in the warning zone. However.. most of the instability will remain offshore through the Channel Islands and the rest of the Southern California bight region with this system so that is where I think the most lightning strikes will reside. The best area within the warning zone would be Santa Barbara County for strikes tonight. Gusty winds are already being reported in the Vandenberg area and these winds will strengthen some as the front approaches.

Further southeast into Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and the Inland Empire between midnight and sunrise is when the southeast to northwest angled frontal zone will finally push over. The Flood Advisory is for the following areas; Western San Luis Obispo County … Western LA County, including Downtown, SCV/SFV, and Malibu … Southwest half of OC.. does not include the Santa Ana Mountains … San Diego Coast/Valley … Moderate flood risks will exist with a half inch to an inch of rainfall in spots. Some areas will see less than that due to the surface low being due west of the area and bringing in somewhat of an ‘offshore pattern’ that can and does often dry some low level atmospheric profiles out so this advisory will largely depend if you are in that zone.

Moar:

http://www.southerncaliforniaweatherforce.com/2019/01/11/detailed-major-pacific-storm-trump-starts-off-as-category-five-first-section-to-hit-tonight-into-saturday-for-southern-california/