By Reginald Stanley. Posted January 7, 2026, 2:32 AM.

Several more rounds of stormy weather reigned in the new year across Southern California, adding more to the rain-soaked region in recent days.

Following a brief but notable episode of Santa Ana Winds on December 29th, a rather dynamic low pressure system over the Pacific began pulling in clouds and subtropical moisture over the region Wednesday, with areas west of the mountains seeing measurable rainfall later that afternoon. Rain became more steady and moderate overnight into the early morning hours of New Year's Day, after which showers became more scattered following the passage of the main frontal band. An additional frontal boundary - colder but weaker than the former - moved through the region later on Thursday, producing more scattered showers. The relatively warm nature of this storm kept snow levels quite high, above 8,000 feet - and producing rain rather than snow in most mountain communities. Storm totals from this event were modest, with the majority of communities west of the mountains receiving between one and two inches of rain by the end of Friday. WeatherCurrents' station in Anza was a notable exception, where over three inches of rain was observed (!) - with the majority of rain having fallen Thursday morning. In Temecula Valley's Wine Country, a total of 1.92 inches was reported through the end of Friday (courtesy of Jim Sappington). Only Riverside (Canyon Crest) recorded under one inch of rain from the storm (courtesy of Jim Ness).

A weak shortwave trough over the eastern Pacific approached California late Friday, and isolated showers appeared over parts of the region and continued overnight into early Saturday morning. Isolated light showers continued intermittently into Sunday. Precipitation totals from this system were light, mostly around 0.1-0.2 inches or less. A more significant shortwave entered the region Sunday evening, bringing more widespread rainfall. Many communities saw a brief, but potent spike in rainfall rates late Sunday night as the main rain band moved through the region. This was especially notable in South Fallbrook and East Hemet, producing much higher storm totals there. Isolated showers tapered off into early Monday morning, with remaining moisture confined to the mountains for the rest of the day. Storm totals from this event were mostly lower but also varied more widely compared to earlier storms, with notable totals of 1.36 inches in South Fallbrook and 1.20 inches in East Hemet, while most other communities recorded under one inch by the end of Monday. In Temecula Valley's Wine Country, 1.10 inches was reported between Saturday and Monday (courtesy of Jim Sappington); while in Riverside's Canyon Crest neighborhood, 0.70 inches was reported during this period (courtesy of Jim Ness) - this was notable in that Riverside was the only WeatherCurrents station to record more rain (albeit very little more) between Saturday and Monday, than during the Wednesday-Friday period.

Accumulated storm totals from the period of December 31st, 2025 through January 5th, 2026 amounted to between one and three inches across the WeatherCurrents network (with the notable exception of Anza, where 3.61 inches was recorded). The three inch mark was also surpassed in Temecula Valley's Wine Country, where contributor Jim Sappington reported a grand total of 3.02 inches. This sequence of stormy weather has yet again pushed regional season totals to well above-average for this point in the 2025-2026 water year.

Here are the rain totals for the WeatherCurrents network and associates (WeatherCurrents stations in Moreno Valley and South Temecula remain offline until further notice):

1. French Valley season total inaccurate.