Southern California temperatures begin to cool with rain on the way

With rain in the forecast over the weekend, temperatures in Southern California will see a sharp drop starting Thursday. 

"Starting (today), a cooling trend is expected with increasing onshore flow ahead of a low-pressure system for the weekend," said a statement from the National Weather Service. "Light to moderate precipitation will fall across most of Southern California in two rounds."

Despite Wednesday's temperatures sitting between 5 and 10 degrees above the average across the region, gradual cooling was expected to start early Thursday, everywhere except the Inland Empire, where temperatures were still expected to be above 80 degrees. Cooler weather is predicted to continue through next Wednesday, though rain is out of the forecast a day earlier.

At the same time, NWS officials said that there would be elevated winds blowing east through mountain regions and high deserts through the weekend. 

Forecasters said that rain will come in two waves over the weekend, with the first round arriving late Friday night and lasting through the early afternoon Saturday. Despite early predictions that the system would be more intense, it has weakened as shifting north. 

Predictions indicate that coastal areas can see less than a quarter-inch of rain with little to no accumulation in the desert regions. 

The second wave of rain is expected to be a bit stronger as it moves through Southern California on Sunday. Showers will linger through Monday morning, possibly affecting the early morning commuters. 

Snow could fall as low as 6,500 feet in mountain ranges, forecasters said. 

Come Tuesday next week, dry and seasonable conditions were expected to return with temperatures averaging in the 70s across Southern California.