An unusual weather pattern for July is bringing a chance of dry lightning and scattered showers to parts of Southern California this weekend, which has raised the risk for fire starts, flash flooding and debris flows, the National Weather Service said.
The early monsoonal moisture brought showers and storms across Orange County and the Inland Empire late Thursday and into early Friday, with the system moving toward the Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino county mountains by Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. Thunderstorms were most likely to hit the the San Gabriel Mountains and foothills and the Antelope Valley in Los Angeles County. Storms were also expected across the San Bernardino County mountains and surrounding high desert.
As of Friday afternoon, the weather service had issued flash flood warnings for Lake Arrowhead, Blue Jay, Cedar Glen, Big Bear Lake and Arrowbear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains, warning of “life-threatening flash flooding of creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses.” In parts of those mountainous areas — popular for summer outdoor adventures — forecasters expected rainfall rates up to and over an inch of rain per hour, likely to cause localized flooding for a brief period through 4 p.m…