By Reginald Stanley. Posted December 28, 2020, 8:07 PM.

Strong winds, cold temperatures and heavy downpours were main products of a low pressure system moving over Southern California on Monday, while a chance of thunderstorms also remains in the mix going into the night.

Although rain is still falling quite heavily at the time of this writing in many locations, precipitation totals so far have largely exceeded original predictions by more than double across most of the region. As of 8 PM Monday, twelve WeatherCurrents stations had recorded over 1 inch of rain since midnight. Hemet, French Valley, and northwest Murrieta had each received over 1.5 inches. Not all locations were nearly this wet, however. WeatherCurrents' stations in Lake Elsinore and Pinon Hills have seen stubbornly low totals thus far, both under 1/2 inch. The station in Lake Elsinore may not be reporting accurately at this time, and we are investigating. Pinon Hills is typically on the drier side. Prior to the storm, predictions had called for between 0.3 and 0.7 inches generally across the inland valleys.

Strong winds precipitated the initial wave of precipitation early Monday morning, with 20-30 mph gusts occurring during sudden bursts of heavy rain. Temperatures remained rather low throughout Monday across much of the region, being a true cold storm, with many communities barely making it above 50 degrees Monday. Showery activity continued on and off from noon onwards, with a particularly heavy band of rain impacting the region as a whole Monday evening. This rain band has been protracted, dropping heavy rain over a wide area for a longer period than usual. Snow levels have hovered around 4,000 feet above sea level, with live camera feeds from the Santa Ana, Palomar, San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountain ranges displaying widespread thick snow Monday afternoon.

Showers are forecast to diminish overnight as the low departs the region to the east early Tuesday morning. The week ahead will dry out, but temperatures will remain seasonably cool for this time of year.