By Reginald Stanley. Posted December 29, 2020, 3:53 PM.

A cold low pressure system brought higher than expected rain totals, mountain snow, and gusty winds to the region on Monday. The storm was the most significant storm of the 2020-21 rainy season to-date, ending a mostly dry November-December period up to this point.

Rain fell primarily on Monday, with waves occurring in the early morning hours, and showery activity throughout the day - however, the heaviest and most enduring rain fell Monday evening. Falling temperatures during this period also lowered snow levels, with snow falling as low as roughly 3,500 feet above sea level in some locations. Precipitation totals were initially predicted to fall under 3/4 inch in the valleys. Instead, roughly double those amounts were widespread inland, ranging 1.04 inches in Perris to 1.86 inches in Temecula Valley's Wine Country (courtesy of Jim Sappington). The majority of active WeatherCurrents stations received between 1.25 and 1.5 inches of rain by the end of Monday. Some of the wetter locations included French Valley and Hemet, 1.79 inches and 1.72 inches were observed, respectively. A total of 1.64 inches was reported in East Highland (courtesy of Peter Michas), while 1.29 inches was reported in nearby Yucaipa (courtesy of Don Kramer). Simi Valley's more northeasterly location allowed for rain to begin falling there as early as late Sunday night.

The region encompassing Perris, Moreno Valley and Riverside was only somewhat drier, all still receiving over an inch of rainfall. WeatherCurrents' station in Pinon Hills received the lowest official total, with 0.66 inches recorded there through Tuesday morning. Pinon Hills is typically drier due to its location in the rainshadow of the northern San Gabriel Mountains, although much of the precipitation there fell in the form of snow which melted Tuesday morning. The rain gauge in Lake Elsinore recorded an erroneously low total, which was determined to be the result of a rain gauge clog.

Residual moisture had mostly dissipated by mid-day Tuesday as low pressure moved to the east of Southern California, leaving gusty north winds in its wake. Several troughs are expected to move southeastward through California over the next seven days, the first on Wednesday having little impact on Southern California. The second trough may affect the region next Monday or Tuesday, and while a chance for precipitation exists, timing and intensity are very uncertain.

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