Chilly, damp weekend as winter weather sets in for Southern California

A small system passing through Southern California will mean cold temperatures and some light, steady, rain through the weekend, forecasters said.

Periods of rain across L.A. County hit residents early Friday morning and will pick up late Friday into Saturday morning.

“The intensity [of rain] doesn’t look too bad, just nice and steady so we don’t anticipate any issues with burn scar areas,” said NWS meteorologist Rich Thompson.

In the San Gabriel Mountains, cumulative rainfall totals for Friday through Sunday night are expected to range between 1/2 inch to 1 inch. Overnight maximum temperatures could reach as low as mid-30s.

Across L.A. County, temperatures will range in the 40s and 50s through the weekend, with areas in the San Fernando Valley even reaching the low 60s Sunday.

For the Inland Empire and Orange County, residents likely won’t see rain until Saturday night into Sunday, the NWS says.

Even then, it likely won’t be more than .1 to .3 inches of rain, with the higher end of that range hitting the mountains.

Coastal Orange County temperatures are expected to be in the mid-60s. And inland Orange County and the Inland Empire will be slightly warmer, likely around the upper 60s to low 70s range.

The Riverside County mountains and the San Bernardino County mountains should be cooler and are expected to have maximum temperatures in the uppers 40s to low 50s.

“The only snow we will see will be well above mountain roads,” said NWS meteorologist Samantha Connolly.

For all four counties, if snow were to fall this weekend, it would be at the highest peaks, anticipated to be around 8,500 feet.

Source: Orange County Register