Southern California is about to get soaked by back-to-back storms as a massive low-pressure system moves into the region from the Pacific.
The first storm from the atmospheric river arrives late Wednesday night into Thursday and is expected to dump one to three inches of rain along the coastal areas and valleys of Ventura County, Los Angeles , Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.
“A strong cyclone over the eastern Pacific has a cold front extending south to just a few hundred miles west of the Central California coast, with a long fetch of moisture that stretches to Hawaii,” the National Weather Service said in a bulletin .
Meteorologists say the heaviest rain will likely fall during a one to three-hour period when the primary frontal band moves through.
While the rain will be quite heavy at times, the Weather Service said flood concerns are “relatively minor” because the first storm will move through quickly.