Rain Then Warm-Up In Store For Cerritos-Artesia

LOS ANGELES, CA — A cold storm from the gulf of Alaska is expected to drop snow levels in the local mountains, clogging up the grapevine and creating hazardous conditions. The storm is expected bring scattered showers across the Los Angeles region, starting Wednesday and peaking Thursday.

However, the days of cool temperatures and rain showers are expected to give way to a significant warm-up, reaching 80 degrees Tuesday in Los Angeles. That's a twenty-degree warm-up in just four days.

First, the cold low pressure system out of the gulf of Alaska will bring a 20 percent chance of rain across Los Angeles Wednesday along with cloudy skies and cool temperatures.

In the mountains, the snow level will be at 4,500 feet Wednesday, then lower to 2,500-3,000 feet Wednesday evening and Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters expect 2-4 inches above 6,000 feet but 1-2 inches across The Grapevine and the Interstate-5 corridor and a dusting across the Antelope Valley foothills, including Highway 138 -- Pearlblossom Highway on Thursday.

Wind gusts of 45 miles per hour are expected Wednesday, diminishing to 40 mph on Thursday.

A winter weather advisory, which denotes horrendous driving conditions, will be in effect from 6 Wednesday evening until 11 Thursday. The storm will cause travel delays and road closures, strong crosswinds, low visibility in blowing snow, and icy roads, the National Weather Service said.

The roads most affected will be highway 33 in Ventura County, Interstate-5 through The Grapevine, and Highway 14, the Antelope Valley Freeway, and Highway 138, Pearlblossom Highway, according to the NWS.

Mostly cloudy skies are forecast in L-A County Wednesday, except for Long Beach, where the forecast is for rain, along with highs of 40 on Mount Wilson; 55 in Lancaster; 56 in Palmdale; 57 in Saugus; 60 in Woodland Hills, San Gabriel and Burbank; 61 in Pasadena and Avalon; 64 in Long Beach and at LAX; and 65 in Downtown L.A. Thursday's forecast in L.A. County is for showers and slightly lower temperature, followed by sunny skies and slightly warmer temperatures on Friday.

Partly cloudy skies are forecast in Orange County, along with highs of 38 on Santiago Peak; 50 on Ortega Highway at 2,600 feet; 55 at Fremont Canyon; 56 at Trabuco Canyon; 59 in Laguna Beach and Yorba Linda; 60 in Mission Viejo and San Clemente; 62 in Newport Beach, Fullerton and Anaheim; and 63 in Irvine. Roughly the same temperatures are expected Thursday amid more partly cloudy skies.

City News Service