By Reginald Stanley. Posted February 15, 2025, 5:08 PM.

An atmospheric river storm sequence delivered much-needed, widespread precipitation to the region this week, with the heaviest rain falling on Thursday.

Light precipitation arrived Wednesday morning from weak pre-frontal storm activity, with sporadic light showers occurring throughout the day in some communities. This continued into early Thursday, before the arrival of the main front beginning Thursday afternoon and lasting into the early morning hours of Friday. Across the inland valleys, the heaviest rains fell Thursday afternoon and evening, while residual moisture lingered into Friday morning before departing to the east. Storm totals were significant everywhere, ranging from as high as 3.50 inches in Lake Elsinore, to a modest 1.52 inches in Pinon Hills. In the higher end of rain totals, 3.13 inches also fell in South Fallbrook, before dropping off to 2.33 inches in Simi Valley to the northwest. In Temecula Valley's Wine Country, 2.69 inches was reported (courtesy of Jim Sappington). To the east, totals in Anza, East Hemet and San Jacinto were somewhat lower, however they were still significant with just under 2 inches in those communities.

The storm left a fresh blanket of snow on the local high mountains, generally above 8,000 feet. Season totals across the WeatherCurrents network received a notable boost from the rains, although these season totals remain well below normal for this time of the year due to the extreme dryness the region experienced up until late January. Warmer, drier weather is expected in the coming days as the region alternates between patterns of offshore and onshore flow.

Here are the rain totals for the WeatherCurrents network and associates: