By John C. Toman. Posted February 6, 2012, 7:26 AM.

The first storm of the month, and only the third of 2012, is setting up to send some light rain and showers to Southern California's inland valleys on Tuesday.

High pressure is breaking down, and a window of onshore flow should allow a storm to slide down the coast Tuesday, dousing Southern California with light rain Tuesday morning in Simi and by Tuesday afternoon in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.

The best chance of rain looks to be Tuesday night, with showers following into Wednesday morning.

Rainfall amounts are currently predicted to be between a fifth and a quarter of an inch in the inland valleys. Simi should get a little more; up to a half of an inch.

The main energy of the storm is then predicted to move east across northern Mexico.

The wet pattern isn't expected to last; high pressure is predicted to rebuild for the rest of the week. Originally there was a hint of another storm late next weekend, but now it looks to be dry and just a little cooler.

Since a wet November, storm activity this winter has been well under normal. Rainfall is now running 3-4 inches below season-to-date normals at WeatherCurrents 16 stations.

First February storm (courtesy of National Weather Service)