Rainfall returns to Los Angeles as storms jolt Southern California
Storms caused a bizarre weather delay Monday night for an NFL game that was played indoors. Forecasters say more storms, as well as cooler air, are in the forecast for the Southwest.
By
Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Oct 6, 2021 2:53 PM EDT
Bernie Rayno covers the rain and thunderstorms overnight in California and Arizona, which produced impressive lightning strike videos.
Parts of the Southwest endured a stormy start to the week as rare thunderstorms produced dazzling and disruptive lightning displays in Southern California. AccuWeather forecasters say that more wet weather is on way for the drought-plagued region.
The rainfall Monday only amounted to a drop in the bucket for many locations, but it was still notable. Los Angeles International Airport received 0.03 of an inch of rain, the first measurable rain at the airport since Aug. 18 when 0.02 of an inch fell, and only the third time that more than a trace fell since March.
In some locations, the rain was accompanied by thunder and lightning. AccuWeather detected over 43,000 lightning strikes in the southwest U.S. during the 24 hours preceding Tuesday morning.
Thousands of lightning strikes sweep across southern California and western Arizona on the morning of Oct. 5, 2021
"A consequence from this much-needed rain was that the Monday Night Football matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders was delayed by half an hour due to lightning," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Thomas Geiger.
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden expressed frustration about the weather delay following the game. Particularly because SoFi Stadium has a roof overhead.
“I’m not an engineer, I have no idea. I have never heard that. I thought it was a joke, but it affected both teams,” Gruden said, according to Pro Football Talk.
As the cold pocket of air in the upper atmosphere responsible for the rain and thunderstorms began to move eastward Tuesday, Salt Lake City received 0.01 of an inch of rain and Phoenix recorded just over 0.25 of an inch.
In the higher elevations of northern Arizona, some of the rain was heavy, with both Flagstaff and Winslow receiving over an inch of rain on Tuesday.
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The presence of clouds and precipitation caused temperatures to lower as well. For example, in Flagstaff, a high of 57 degrees F followed a high temperature of 70 degrees Monday. Normally, Flagstaff can expect a high of 67 degrees this time of year.
The Southwest will get a break Thursday, but more precipitation will be on the way after that.
A cold front extending from an area of low pressure moving from the Pacific Northwest into the Rocky Mountains, along with moisture arriving from the ocean, will bring the chance of rain back to Southern California Friday, according to Geiger.
The rain may slow efforts in containing the oil spill off the coast of Southern California. If lightning were to develop in the area, the cleanup efforts may need to be temporarily suspended altogether. Gusty winds in any thunderstorms may further complicate operations.
Although the rain at the end of the week does not look particularly heavy, it is expected to be more widespread than the rain that fell Monday night. In addition, the cooler air behind the front combined with the clouds will result in declining temperatures.
"After a high of 89 degrees on Monday, Las Vegas will only reach 74 degrees by Friday," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis.
As the system moves farther inland into the weekend, the colder air combined with the precipitation may cause snow to fall.
"Some higher elevations in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado may receive a dusting of snow," said Geiger.
Following the system late this week, the next storm may arrive by next Monday or Tuesday. As of now, forecasters say the most likely areas for precipitation will be the Northwest and Rockies, but some rain could make it as far south and west as Southern California once again.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, DIRECTVstream, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeatherNOW is streaming on Roku and XUMO.
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News / Weather Forecasts
Rainfall returns to Los Angeles as storms jolt Southern California
Storms caused a bizarre weather delay Monday night for an NFL game that was played indoors. Forecasters say more storms, as well as cooler air, are in the forecast for the Southwest.
By Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Oct 6, 2021 2:53 PM EDT
Bernie Rayno covers the rain and thunderstorms overnight in California and Arizona, which produced impressive lightning strike videos.
Parts of the Southwest endured a stormy start to the week as rare thunderstorms produced dazzling and disruptive lightning displays in Southern California. AccuWeather forecasters say that more wet weather is on way for the drought-plagued region.
The rainfall Monday only amounted to a drop in the bucket for many locations, but it was still notable. Los Angeles International Airport received 0.03 of an inch of rain, the first measurable rain at the airport since Aug. 18 when 0.02 of an inch fell, and only the third time that more than a trace fell since March.
In some locations, the rain was accompanied by thunder and lightning. AccuWeather detected over 43,000 lightning strikes in the southwest U.S. during the 24 hours preceding Tuesday morning.
Thousands of lightning strikes sweep across southern California and western Arizona on the morning of Oct. 5, 2021
"A consequence from this much-needed rain was that the Monday Night Football matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders was delayed by half an hour due to lightning," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Thomas Geiger.
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden expressed frustration about the weather delay following the game. Particularly because SoFi Stadium has a roof overhead.
“I’m not an engineer, I have no idea. I have never heard that. I thought it was a joke, but it affected both teams,” Gruden said, according to Pro Football Talk.
As the cold pocket of air in the upper atmosphere responsible for the rain and thunderstorms began to move eastward Tuesday, Salt Lake City received 0.01 of an inch of rain and Phoenix recorded just over 0.25 of an inch.
In the higher elevations of northern Arizona, some of the rain was heavy, with both Flagstaff and Winslow receiving over an inch of rain on Tuesday.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
The presence of clouds and precipitation caused temperatures to lower as well. For example, in Flagstaff, a high of 57 degrees F followed a high temperature of 70 degrees Monday. Normally, Flagstaff can expect a high of 67 degrees this time of year.
The Southwest will get a break Thursday, but more precipitation will be on the way after that.
A cold front extending from an area of low pressure moving from the Pacific Northwest into the Rocky Mountains, along with moisture arriving from the ocean, will bring the chance of rain back to Southern California Friday, according to Geiger.
The rain may slow efforts in containing the oil spill off the coast of Southern California. If lightning were to develop in the area, the cleanup efforts may need to be temporarily suspended altogether. Gusty winds in any thunderstorms may further complicate operations.
Although the rain at the end of the week does not look particularly heavy, it is expected to be more widespread than the rain that fell Monday night. In addition, the cooler air behind the front combined with the clouds will result in declining temperatures.
"After a high of 89 degrees on Monday, Las Vegas will only reach 74 degrees by Friday," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis.
As the system moves farther inland into the weekend, the colder air combined with the precipitation may cause snow to fall.
"Some higher elevations in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado may receive a dusting of snow," said Geiger.
Following the system late this week, the next storm may arrive by next Monday or Tuesday. As of now, forecasters say the most likely areas for precipitation will be the Northwest and Rockies, but some rain could make it as far south and west as Southern California once again.
MORE WEATHER NEWS:
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, DIRECTVstream, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeatherNOW is streaming on Roku and XUMO.
Report a Typo