Lots Of Rain Heading To SW Riverside County

SOUTHWEST RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A storm system that could bring 2 inches of rain to Southwest Riverside County — including the cities of Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Murrieta, Temecula, and Wildomar — is creeping closer.

The wet weather could begin Saturday, but the storm activity is forecast to really get underway Monday through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

Partly cloudy skies are expected Friday and temperatures are expected to remain above average throughout the county, but the mercury will drop on Saturday as the storm system moves in from the southwest, according to the NWS.

The system will bring a chance of rain from Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon everywhere except in the Coachella Valley, forecasters said. Rainfall totals this weekend are not expected to exceed one-tenth of an inch.

The brief break in the rainfall will last until late Monday morning, then a chance of rain will last through Thursday afternoon throughout the county.

Rainfall totals from Monday through Thursday are expected to reach 2 inches in the Riverside metropolitan area and Southwest Riverside County, 2.5 inches in the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning, up to 5 inches in Idyllwild and 1.5 inches in the Coachella Valley, according to the NWS.

High temperatures Friday could reach 77 degrees in Riverside, 83 in the San Gorgonio Pass, 84 in the Coachella Valley, 69 in Temecula and 77 in Hemet.

—City News Service contributed to this report.