San Diego's parched mountains and foothills could get one to two inches of rain between late Monday and early Wednesday as the remnants of former Hurricane Linda cycle across Southern California.

"It looks like we'll have prolonged periods of light-to-moderate rain instead of fast-moving thunderstorms," said Joe Dandrea a forecaster with the National Weather Service . "That will allow the rain to soak into the soil more."

Moisture from Linda is cycling directly toward Southern California. NOAA

Four years of drought and an unusually hot summer have produced increasingly dangerous wildfire conditions in East County. Forecasters are hoping that the region can make it through early fall without huge, wind-whipped fires. The large El Nino that has been developing in the equatorial Pacific could bring heavy rains in November and December, helping to restore reservoirs in the northern part of the state while reducing the wildfire threat in the south.

Dandrea says that areas at and near the coast could get from one-half to three-quarters of an inch of rain through Wednesday, while than eastern foothills and mountains get from one inch to 1.5 inches Places like Palomar Mountain get as much as two inches. The system won't bring rain to the upper elevations. But forecasters say the storm will finally bringing the region's temperatures below normal.

The average monthly temperature in San Diego is running about six degrees above normal, and sea surface temperatures at local beaches have been in the 72-75 degree range, which is up to seven degrees above normal.