By Reginald Stanley. Posted February 17, 2026, 1:39 PM.

The first in a series of winter storms rolled through the state this week, bringing widespread rain, gusty winds, and mountain snow to the region.

A shortwave trough arrived in Southern California on Monday, bringing gusty winds, sharply colder temperatures and periods of moderate-to-heavy precipitation well into Monday evening. Post-frontal convective showers followed late Monday night and early Tuesday morning, with some communities (mainly closer to the coasts) reporting brief thunderstorms overnight. Precipitation amounts across the inland valleys fell mostly between one and two inches of rainfall by noon on Tuesday. In Temecula Valley's Wine Country, 2" was reported through Tuesday morning (courtesy of Jim Sappington). In contrast - on the lower end of storm totals was Riverside's Canyon Crest neighborhood, where 0.97 inches was recorded (courtesy of Jim Ness) and San Jacinto in last with 0.77 inches. Snow levels started around 6,000 feet on Monday, dropping to roughly 5,000 feet overnight as colder air settled in the storm's wake.

Scattered, more limited shower activity continued to persist into Tuesday afternoon. Another shortwave trough is slated to impact the region Tuesday night - colder than the previous storm, and somewhat less wet. Precipitation totals through Wednesday morning are predicted to range from 0.50 to 1 inch across the valleys, with locally higher amounts possible in areas where heavier precipitation falls. Gusty winds are set to return to the region Tuesday evening into Wednesday, similar in strength to those on Monday. Snow levels will remain in the 5,000-5,500 elevation range into Tuesday night, before falling to around 3,500 to 4,000 feet on Wednesday, impacting travel through mountain passes. Yet another round of heavy precipitation is forecast for Wednesday night into Thursday morning, while precipitation chances decrease significantly for Friday and Saturday before a potential wet weather redux early next week.

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

1. French Valley season total incomplete.