Another storm set to hit Southern California around New Year’s Day. Will it be as bad as the Christmas rain?

Two storms are projected to land over parts of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, with the first arriving on Wednesday, forecasters said Monday.

Forecasters anticipate rain lasting through Sunday, with the bulk expected to drop on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

The first storm will remain in the region through Thursday with light showers lingering on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. The second storm is expected to arrive on Saturday and move out on Sunday.

“It’s going to be nothing to compare to what you saw around on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It’s going to be nowhere near that strength,” said Rich Thompson, a National Weather Service meteorologist. But, he added, “(it’s) definitely nothing to be disregarded, but just kind of the usual precautions if you’re traveling, be prepared for like some flooded roadways, things like that.”

Los Angeles County is expected to receive about 2 to 3.5 inches of rain in coastal and valley areas, and 5 to 5.5 inches landing in foothill and mountain areas Wednesday through Sunday with the two-storm system.

Orange County is expected to receive up to two inches of rain from Wednesday through Sunday, according to NWS meteorologists. The Inland Empire could get an inch of rain. The San Bernardino mountains are projected to get 3 to 3.25 inches of rain. The High Desert could receive half an inch.

Those projected rainfall totals compare to the amount recorded during the first 48 hours of last week’s Christmas Eve storm where LA County got 2 to 10 inches, Orange County received 1 to 5 inches and the Inland Empire got 0.64 to 12.32 inches.

Snow will likely land in areas above 8,000 feet elevation on Wednesday and Thursday. Once the second colder weather system arrives on Saturday, snow levels will drop down to areas located in 6,500 to 7,000 feet elevations, such as Big Bear.

While less rain is expected, potential flooding and debris flows are “always a concern, especially in burn scar areas,” said Keith Navarre, a spokesperson and firefighter specialist for LA County’s Fire Department. Heavy duty equipment will be staged near the Eaton fire burn scar in case any debris needs to be cleared, he said. Water rescue teams and air rescue teams will remain on standby through the weekend.

The LA Fire Department will likely stage heavy equipment near the Palisades fire burn scar in preparation of any weather related issues, said spokesperson Lyndsey Lantz. The department will have solidified emergency response plans in place closer to day one of the storm.

The Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department said it doesn’t currently have any concerns and will be operating business as usual.

Residents are urged to “be prepared to listen to the actions that the local emergency managers suggest, the sheriff, some fire departments and so forth, and just definitely take those actions if they ask you to evacuate evacuate an area or just shelter in place,” Thompson said.

Besides the coming rain, NWS forecasters advised of high winds in the region Monday and Tuesday.

A wind advisory was in place for much of LA County through Monday evening including Santa Clarita, Van Nuys, Woodland Hills, Glendale and Burbank.

Another wind advisory, in effect until 1 p.m. Tuesday, was issued for Inland Empire locations including Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Corona, Riverside, Banning, San Bernardino and mountain communities like Big Bear City, Big Bear Lake, Running Springs, Lake Arrowhead, Wrightwood and Crestline.

Northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph were expected in affected areas.

Last week’s Christmas Eve storm led to freeway closures, over 100 rescues, evacuation warnings, power losses, debris flows, and stranded Lytle Creek residents.

In San Bernardino County’s Lytle Creek, where last week’s rain washed out a road near the area’s only bridge, leaving roughly 250 residents struggling to enter or leave their neighborhood, a temporary dirt road was constructed. The temporary solution allows the people of the Happy Jack neighborhood to get their vehicles in and out and provides a path for emergency vehicles to access the area if needed.

Resident Don Parrington wants the county to restrict the road to residents only and limit traffic on the road, constructed over the weekend, to one car at a time, to keep the dirt road usable.

With rain returning to the area later this week, the county’s public works department worked to deepen the creek in front of the bridge and bolstering the berms on the banks of the creek near the bridge, to keep the dirt access road in place.