By Reginald Stanley. Posted April 2, 2024, 3:20 AM.

A cold, potent Pacific storm brought widespread rainfall, gusty winds, and isolated thunderstorms to the region during the final weekend of March.

The heaviest precipitation fell on Saturday across most of the region, beginning during the early morning hours and continuing into the early afternoon. Gusty winds were a feature of this part of the storm, while colder air aloft had kept daytime temperatures well below normal throughout the day. Conditions had mostly dried out by the late afternoon, however scattered showers began moving ashore once again after midnight into early Sunday morning. Another wave of heavy precipitation impacted the region Sunday morning and early that afternoon, with showers gradually tapering off throughout the evening and night. For many communities Sunday was colder than Saturday, resulting in numerous low maximum temperature records being broken on Sunday. Wind had largely declined outside of the mountains and deserts. Monday was milder and drier.

Storm totals varied, with most WeatherCurrents stations receiving between 1 and 3 inches of rain by the end of Sunday. WeatherCurrents' station in northwestern Murrieta received the highest rainfall in the network, with a combined Saturday-Sunday total of 3.27 inches recorded there. In Temecula Valley's Wine Country, a total of 3.01 inches was reported (courtesy of Jim Sappington). Lake Elsinore was runner-up with 2.94 inches, while other stations in the Temecula Valley recorded similar totals above two inches. Rain amounts were somewhat lower in the eastern valleys and other locales, mostly between one and two inches. Anza was the driest location during this weekend's storm, however they still received a modest 1.02 inches. To the northwest, Simi Valley received 2.05 inches while Pinon Hills recorded 1.41 inches. The storm pushed several WeatherCurrents stations to over 20 inches for the 2023-2024 water year to-date, while season totals have exceeded entire season averages across the majority of the region.

A ridge of high pressure will bring relief from the wet weather for the region for a brief period mid-week, before another cold low pressure system brings unstable weather later in the week - primarily on Thursday night and Friday. Yet another chance of precipitation is in the forecast for early next week as an additional, albeit weak, low pressure system targets the region again.

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

1. French Valley season total incomplete.