Rain and mountain snow showers will begin on Thursday morning
With increasing onshore flow, the marine layer will move deeper inland overnight, and could be dense in a few areas. It will be slow to clear on Thursday morning, and skies will stay mostly gray with increasing upper-level cloud coverage. Low temperatures will be in the 30s to 40s and high temperatures will drop dramatically to the mid 50s or low 60s.
Rain chances begin from in our northwest corner on Thursday mid-morning, and rain showers will spread southeast, lasting through Friday. Rain rates will mostly be light to moderate, though there is a slight chance of thunderstorms with briefly heavy rain. This system is very cold and moisture-starved, and therefore totals will be low at mostly under a half inch. There may be some localized areas with higher rain totals, especially where thunderstorms occur.
Snow levels will drop to 3,000 feet. We will see 1 inch above 3,000 feet, up to 3 inches above 4,500 feet, and up to 6 inches above 6,000 feet. There will likely be impacts for drivers on Highway 33 and the I-5 near the Grapevine or Tejon Pass. Plan travel accordingly. There is a winter weather advisory for the mountains across all three counties from 2:00 pm Thursday to 11:00 pm Friday.
On Thursday night, there will be southwest to west winds. Gusts may reach up to 50 mph in the foothills and mountains. With gusty winds and wet soil, there is an increased risk of downed trees or power lines.
There is a high surf advisory on the Central Coast from 3:00 pm Thursday to 3:00 pm Saturday, and one on the Ventura County coast from 9:00 pm Thursday to 3:00 pm Saturday. Breaking waves will be 12 to 18 feet and 7 to 10 feet respectively. There is also a beach hazards statement on the South Coast from 9:00 pm Thursday to 3:00 pm Saturday with breaking waves from 3 to 6 feet.
Conditions will dry out on Saturday and sunshine will be abundant under a small ridge of high pressure. However, temperatures will only increase by a couple of degrees, topping out in the low to mid 60s. Sunday will be quite similar in temperatures, but there will be increasing cloud coverage through the day as a trough knocks the ridge flat. Temperatures will gradually warm a little more on both Monday and Tuesday.
