Southern California’s first significant storm of the season expected to hit Wednesday

The first significant storm of the season is expected to arrive midweek in Southern California, bringing cooler temperatures and 1 to 2 inches of rain over several days.

The predicted rainfall total is “fairly significant for this early in the season,” said meteorologist David Gomberg with the National Weather Service. “This is more typical of what you would see in the winter.”

Current models show a 60% to 70% chance of rain beginning Wednesday, with the storm possibly extending into Saturday.

“It’s a fairly long duration of off-and-on rain, but the intensities at any given point don’t look to be too extreme as it stands right now,” Gomberg said Sunday morning. “It’s just kind of this longer duration of light-to-moderate rainfall that adds up over time.”

The storm’s expected steadiness “will help delay any severe fire weather conditions for a while,” he said. Foothill and mountain areas could receive slightly more rain, but the National Weather Service isn’t expecting significant debris flow or flash flooding.

Up in the Bay Area, weather officials are predicting 1 to 3 inches of intermittent and widespread rain throughout the week. Coastal areas could see rain as early as Monday night.