It’s going to be a cold, wet and snowy Christmas in the Southland.
More rain was expected throughout the region Saturday, along with falling snow levels and temperatures significantly below normal, according to the National Weather Service.
Steady rain should push into Los Angeles County from the central California coast by Saturday night, forecasters said. The system will move through the region fairly quickly, with just lingering snow showers on the north facing mountain slopes by Sunday morning. The storm is expected to be colder but less moist than the system that hit the area Thursday and Friday, which dropped between 1.5 and 3 inches on the Southland.
Forecasters said Saturday’s rain would produce between .5 and 1 inches for most areas, with up to 1.5 inches in favored foothill/mountain locations.
In the mountains, a winter storm warning was issued from 4 p.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday. The snow level was expected to get as low as 3,500 feet, with 6 to 12 inches of snow expected above 5,000 feet.
Saturday’s high temperatures will be in the upper 40s and 50s, with lows dropping into and 30s in some valley and mountains areas, and the high 20s in the Antelope Valley.
Wind gusts of up to 45 miles an hour are expected in the mountains and high desert.
The NWS warned motorists of reduced visibilities in areas of blowing snow, and said people should be prepared for dangerous winter driving conditions in the local mountains over the holiday weekend.
The rain will lift fairly quickly Sunday morning, only to return on Monday. Early estimates are for .5 to 1 inch of rain with the potential for more. Snow levels could drop to around 2,500 feet late Monday into Tuesday morning and 6 to 12 inches of snowfall is possible, according to the NWS.
Rain is in the forecast for next Wednesday and Thursday as well.