
California is expected to receive much-needed rain this weekend and early next week. The rain will help reduce fire danger, prevent new fires from starting, and provide essential water to weaken ongoing fires while giving firefighters the time they need to contain the active blazes in Southern California.
An upper-level low-pressure system is expected to strengthen and move over Southern California, bringing the necessary conditions for widespread rain and snow throughout the weekend and into Monday.
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While rain is highly beneficial in wildfire situations, it can also be hazardous due to a phenomenon known as "burn scars."
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What are burn scars?
Burn scars are barren, stripped areas of land left behind by wildfires. These regions are especially prone to flash flooding, even with minimal rainfall.
Healthy soil normally absorbs rainwater, but scorched soil repels water, making the ground more susceptible to flooding with even a small amount of rain.
These flash floods can trigger landslides full of debris, which, given California's topography, can lead to even more destruction.
Forecasters work hard to predict incoming rain so land management agencies can deploy resources to stabilize the soil. Rainfall rates exceeding 0.25 inches per hour are the threshold at which landslides may become a concern.

The good news is that California is expected to receive rain over several days, with the rainfall staying just below the landslide threshold and spread out over many hours. This should help reduce fire danger without causing major flooding.
By early next week, Southern California could see a quarter to an inch or more of rain. That's some good news after a devastating few weeks.
What does this mean for North Texas?
This system is expected to move toward us by midweek, bringing heavy rainfall. The Climate Prediction Center has placed us in an area with a high probability of above-normal precipitation next week.
Stay tuned for updates.
