Temecula Rainfall Totals, Lightning Strikes Recorded Across RivCo

TEMECULA, CA — A cold weather storm swept into Riverside County Wednesday, leaving rain, hail, and snow in its wake.

The National Weather Service shared its 24-hour rain and snowfall totals. Inland Empire's San Bernardino Mountains saw the most snow, while the foothills and the San Jacinto Mountain towns saw more in the way of hail and thunderstorms, according to reports.

In the San Bernardino Mountains, Snow Valley saw the most snow, with 4 inches at an elevation of 7,100 feet.

Next in line for snow was Bear Mountain and Snow Summit, which saw 3 to 4 inches of natural snow also at 7,100 feet. Mountain High, with elevations from 6,600 to 8,000 feet, saw an average of 3 inches of snow.

Meanwhile, Big Bear Lake, Wrightwood, and Idyllwild saw between 1 and 2 inches of snow due to this storm. Those mountains average between 6,500 and 5,500 feet in elevation.

Southwest Riverside County towns of Lake Elsinore, Murrieta, and Temecula saw in the neighborhood of .25 inches of rain in the one-day period. Areas north, such as Beaumont and Banning, received just under .75 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Cherry Valley, Redlands, Yucaipa and the like saw extreme weather from the storm, meteorologists say.

Lightning struck across Mount San Jacinto, bringing with it hail in a dramatic early morning display.

Residents from Banning, Cabazon, and Hemet to the mountain areas of Idyllwild and Pine Cove had most of those verified lightning strikes in the Wednesday storm.

Hailers today in #socal #cherryvalley #cawx pic.twitter.com/rVMa5micRH
— FirePhotoGirl (@FirePhotoGirl) January 4, 2024

Cherry Valley residents reported seeing hail and lightning, as did those from Redlands to Yucaipa, with more than a few bolts hitting from clouds to ground. In the image below, provided by the National Weather Service, the purple bolts were in the sky, while the yellow bolts were verified lightning strikes.

Elsewhere in the Coachella Valley, the deserts merely saw trace amounts of rain due to the most recent storm, according to the NWS.

Colder weather and more rain are expected over the weekend, according to projections from the NWS San Diego meteorologists, who say this is a pattern that is likely to continue over the next few weeks.

"A weak disturbance in northwest flow aloft will bring some passing high clouds and generate areas of gusty northerly winds through Friday night," meteorologists predict. "It will be slightly warmer through Saturday, then sharply colder with a chance of rain and snow showers on Sunday."

Residents can expect strong westerly winds will accompany this disturbance Saturday night, shifting northerly on Sunday. Temperatures will be well below average on both Sunday and Monday, with areas of frost in the valleys.

It will be dry, with some temperature moderation early next week, ahead of another cold, showery, unsettled period into the following weekend.