Heavy rain, hot temps predicted Monday and Tuesday

SAN DIEGO - The mountain and desert regions of San Diego and Riverside counties were predicted to get heavy rain Monday and Tuesday, and residents should be prepared for flash floods, the National Weather Service

said today.

NWS meteorologist James Thomas said heavy showers and thunderstorms were expected due to the combination of deep moisture and an approaching system of upper-level low pressure, moving counterclockwise 500 miles southwest of San Diego.

But the storms were only expected to brush Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Thomas said San Diego's mountains could get 1-2 inches of rain, while lower-elevation places like the Coachella Valley might experience more than 1/2 inch.

Despite the heavy rain, the system will not be a cold one. In fact, highs even on the San Diego coastline were predicted to be in the mid-80s.

``It will be closer to Florida weather,'' Thomas said. ``We should expect a muggy system.''

Similar conditions occurred in July, when record-breaking thunderstorms hit San Diego County and washed out a freeway bridge east of Indio. Ramona received more than 2 inches of rain and flash-floods wreaked havoc on the

town's streets.

Thomas advised that residents in the heavy-rain regions monitor the latest NWS updates and to be prepared to take action.