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Pacific Storm An Easter Weekend Soaker | Weather.com

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California and much of the West are being soaked by a slow-moving storm this Easter holiday weekend with locally flooding rain, gusty winds and heavy mountain snow.

On S​unday, rain and mountain snow showers, perhaps a few thunderstorms, will linger over Southern California while precipitation tapers off over Northern California. High-elevation snow will sweep through the Rockies and the southern Great Basin.

S​ome localized flooding and a few debris flows have already been reported in western San Diego County and parts of Santa Barbara County.

M​ammoth Mountain has picked up 2 feet of snow. At least 14 inches of snow has been reported near Truckee, California so far.

(Further beef up your forecast with our detailed, hour-by-hour breakdown for the next 8 days - only available on our Premium Pro experience.)

H​ow much rain and snow: This storm won't have a long plume of deep moisture and will be a moderate storm.

The heaviest rain will fall in the L.A. basin down to San Diego, which is expected to pick up an inch of rain from this storm. Locally higher amounts are possible in the foothills of the Sierra and Southern California mountains below snow level, as well as the coastal ranges.

G​enerally, up to an additional foot of additional snow is expected in the Sierra, especially the southern Sierra. From 6 inches to 2 feet of snow is also possible in the Southern California mountains above 5,500 feet elevation, according to the National Weather Service.

L​ighter rain and snow will fall elsewhere across the Southwest and Rockies.

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P​otential impacts: Given moderate rainfall from this storm, we expect flash flooding and mudslides to be more localized than past atmospheric river events this season. Expect some scattered flash flooding in the usual trouble spots, particularly in urban areas. Some mudslides and minor debris flows are also possible.

Unlike the blizzard that kicked off the month, snow from this storm likely won't lead to lengthy closures anywhere in the West, but snowy travel is expected.

According to the National Weather Service, snow could fall at elevations as low as 4,500 feet in Southern California. That could potentially affect the Grapevine (Interstate 5) through Tejon Pass from Saturday night into Sunday night.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. His lifelong love of meteorology began with a close encounter with a tornado as a child in Wisconsin. He studied physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then completed his Master's degree working with dual-polarization radar and lightning data at Colorado State University. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on X (formerly Twitter), Threads, Facebook and Bluesky.

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