The National Weather Service forecast for precipitation in Southern California this past weekend proved correct — first rain, then snow.
From Saturday through Sunday afternoon, rain fell over the whole region, although the coast and the San Bernardino Mountains received the most rain.
And Monday during the morning, late afternoon and evening, snow fell all over the Hill. Pine Cove’s precipitation early Monday remained rain and total snow estimates were between 3 and 5 inches whereas Fern Valley residents saw anywhere from 5 inches to a foot on the ground and about 4 to 6 inches of snow fell in town.
Sunday’s rainfall on the San Jacinto Mountains generally diminished as the system moved south. The most rain fell in Pine Cove, where 0.9 inches were recorded. Alandale Station recorded 0.67 inches and the Vista Grande Station had 0.64 inches. In Idyllwild, 0.5 inches fell. The Forest Service’s Keenwild Ranger Station recorded 0.46 inches. In Pinyon and Anza, only 0.06 and 0.05 inches, respectively, were recorded.
With this rainfall, the total rain since July 1 is almost 20 inches in Pine Cove, which is about 1.2 more than the long-term average through the end of February and about 3 inches below the historic rain through the end of March.
At Keenwild, the total of 17 inches is below both end-of-month averages.
The NWS forecasts for the rest of the spring vary. The likelihood of above-average rain diminishes after this weekend, although rain may return for the weekend. The three-to four-week forecast released last week is for normal rainfall. The three-month outlook, which is from Feb. 18, predicts above-average precipitation through May.