Springtime on hold as light rain and low temperatures persist in Southern California

It may be a little longer before springtime weather returns to California, as scattered showers and below-average temperatures are expected to continue throughout the week.

Light rain is expected along the northern Los Angeles County slopes, especially near the Kern County and San Bernardino borders, said Andrew Rorke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. In Orange and San Diego counties, scattered rain and cooler temperatures may persist through Thursday.

Elevations above 5,500 feet could even see up to an inch of snowfall, Rorke said. The mountains in Southern California — specifically Frazier Park, Big Pines and the Falling Springs areas — also could see snow. Resort areas in San Bernardino, which were dusted with snow over the weekend, are likely to see more with the latest storm.

It has been a surprising spring, with most of the state seeing two to five times more rain than is normal for this time of year, according to the weather service.

In the first three weeks of May, Los Angeles has received 0.73 inch of rain — 350% of the normal for this time of year, Rorke said. Downtown L.A. usually gets only a quarter of an inch for the entire month of May.

A lot of that rainfall came during a record-setting storm Thursday and showers on Saturday and Sunday. Light rain over the weekend left 0.22 inch of rain in downtown L.A., up to 0.28 inch in the city’s valleys, 0.21 inch in Burbank and 0.37 inch in Lancaster.

The National Weather Service didn’t have data for snowfall amounts in Southern California’s ski areas Monday morning but posted a photograph on Twitter showing a frosty Big Bear Lake, Snow Summit and other resorts.

The late spring rains continue a trend of wet weather that began in early winter. The heavy rain and snowfall have broken records and even made the state drought-free for the first time in almost 10 years.

Forecasters initially predicted more rain was headed for L.A. on Tuesday, but the jet stream seems to have calmed and the city’s metropolitan areas aren’t likely to see much in the way of rain.

“There could be a stray shower, but the L.A. Basin looks like it will be drier,� he said.

A separate storm in the Gulf of Alaska has generated large waves along California’s coast, triggering a beach hazard alert through at least Tuesday morning. Waves from 3 to 7 feet high with strong rip currents are expected, and the public is advised to stay out from the water.

“Only experienced swimmers and surfers should be in the water for the next couple days,� Rorke said.

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Twitter: @r_valejandra