By Reginald Stanley. Posted October 22, 2021, 11:43 PM.

A much-anticipated storm targeting Northern and Central California on Monday is forecast to provide abundant rainfall for those regions, however Southern California (particularly south of Los Angeles) is much less likely to see comparable amounts of significant rainfall.

Favorable jet dynamics combined with an atmospheric river will benefit the northern and central portions of the state, even as far south as Los Angeles and the transverse mountain ranges, where up to an inch of rainfall is possible. Areas south and east of Los Angeles are forecast to receive much less rainfall, with precipitation amounts between 0.20 and 0.50 across the valleys, and generally lower amounts in San Diego County. The deserts east of the mountains could receive up to 0.15 inches or nothing at all. The San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains are predicted to receive abundant rainfall, while snow levels are expected to remain over 9,000 feet above sea level. Strong winds are also expected to pick up in the mountains and deserts Monday, before high pressure slowly builds for the remainder of the week.

The storm has the potential to provide drought relief in parts of the state, including water supplies. The Climate Prediction Center, however, issued a winter outlook for 2021-2022 which shows the likelihood that drought conditions may remain across most of California, under La Nina conditions.