Wet, cold system makes its way towards SoCal over weekend
Another bout of rain and mountain snow are set to arrive in the region starting Friday night, with forecasters warning of the potential for "many hours of light rain," but the brunt of the storm is likely to primarily impact areas north of Los Angeles County.
The L.A. area, however, will still have to cope with light rain, some gusty winds and below-normal temperatures.
"While central and northern California will see a big rain and snow impacts, southwest California will be on the fringes of the system -- but not without some threats," according to the National Weather Service. "As such, Friday through Saturday will be characterized by many hours of steady light rain and mountain snow along with gusty southwest winds, with a decreasing trend on Sunday. The peak of this storm for our area will be on Saturday."
Forecasters said the overall storm system will likely drop between a half-inch and an inch of rain in most areas, with higher totals possible in San Luis Obispo County.
"While roads and outdoor events will be impacted, and creeks will see health flows, flooding impacts with these totals and rates should be limited to the most vulnerable areas to mudslides," according to the NWS.
As much as 12 inches of snow could fall at mountain elevations above 6,500 feet, with as much as 6 inches possible as low as 5,500 feet. There is only a slight chance of accumulating snow on the Golden State (5) Freeway through the Tejon Pass.
The storm system will also bring gusting winds to some mountain areas, particularly in the San Gabriel Mountains and the Antelope Valley.
A high wind watch will be in effect in the Antelope Valley foothills and the western San Gabriel Mountains from Friday night through Sunday afternoon, with forecasters anticipating winds of up to 35 mph, gusting as high as 60 mph.
For the rest of the Antelope Valley, a wind advisory will be in place from 10 p.m. Friday through 1 p.m. Sunday, with similar wind speeds anticipated.
In the eastern San Gabriel Mountains, a winter storm watch will be in effect from Friday evening through Sunday morning, thanks to the possibility of higher-elevation snow accumulations and winds gusting up to 65 mph.
"Although snow totals and intensity will be light to moderate, the presence of snow with the potential for strong damaging winds brings the potential for Winter Storm Warning conditions," forecasters said.
The storm should move out of the area by Sunday, with another round of light rain possible by Wednesday.
