It is going to be a wet and rainy New Year’s Eve in Santa Clarita this year.
The first of two weekend rainstorms passed through the valley Friday morning, bringing 0.22 inches of rain to Saugus, 0.25 inches of rain to Del Valle and 0.28 inches of rain to Newhall, according to National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist David Sweet.
The morning rain caused traffic delays and traffic collisions on the Santa Clarita roadways, as well as Interstate 5.
A jackknifed big rig slowed traffic on southbound I-5 for two hours Friday morning during the storm. A Sig Alert was issued for three lanes of the freeway at 9 a.m. and continued until 10:30 a.m.
According to the NWS, the second storm is expected to pass through the area early Saturday morning.
“We’re expecting a quarter to half an inch (of rain),” Sweet said.
The NWS forecast predicts that rain showers will begin Saturday morning and will continue into the afternoon and evening, with a slight chance of thunderstorms.
Cold weather is also expected to come with the rain, with highs in the low-50s and lows in the low- to mid-30s Saturday and south winds 10 to 20 miles per hour in the afternoon.
Due to the low temperatures, officials with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a Cold Weather Alert for the Antelope Valley and Los Angeles County Mountain Areas for the weekend.
“Children, the elderly, and people with disabilities or special medical needs are especially vulnerable during such cold snaps,” said Los Angeles County Interim Health Officer Jeffrey Gunzenhauser in a press release. “Extra precaution should be taken to ensure they don’t get too cold when they are outside.”
The low temperatures and precipitation will also bring some snow, and possible road closures, to the Grapevine with snow falling down to 3,500 feet Saturday evening.
“This next system is colder so the snow level is expected to be much lower,” Sweet said. “There will be some snow to the Grapevine.”
The good news? New Year’s Day is expected to bring partly cloudy skies with highs in the lower- to mid-50s.
This is the second weekend in a row where two back-to-back storms hit the Santa Clarita Valley; however, this weekend’s rains are not expected to hit the valley as hard.
Sweet said he does not expect the NWS will issue a flood advisory for the recent burn areas, as they did last weekend, during or following Saturday’s storm.
“It doesn’t seem too likely with rainfall likely to amount for a quarter to half an inch,” he said.
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