Clouds, Cool Temps For Orange County, Mountain Snow Expected

ORANGE COUNTY, CA —A cold storm out of the Gulf of Alaska rolls into the Southland overnight, and that storm will blanket area mountains with snow, forecasters from the National Weather Service said.

The snow level will be at 4,500 feet Tuesday, then lower to 2,500-3,000 feet Tuesday evening and Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. It said an accumulation of 4-7 inches of snow is expected above 6,000 feet, and 1-2 inches will accumulate across The Grapevine, meaning snow is likely on the Interstate 5 corridor.

Partly cloudy skies were forecast in Orange County along with highs of 43 on Santiago Peak; 52 on Ortega Highway at 2,600 feet; 58 at Fremont Canyon; 60 at Trabuco Canyon; 61 in Laguna Beach; 62 in San Clemente and Yorba Linda; 63 in Mission Viejo; 64 in Anaheim and Newport Beach; 65 in Fullerton; and 66 in Irvine.

Partly cloudy skies are forecast over the three days, including Tuesday, followed by sunny skies Friday, Saturday and Sunday before cloudy conditions return.

Also expected Wednesday are strong wind gusts — 45 miles per hour, diminishing to 40 mph on Thursday.

The weather service warned that the storm may cause road closures and travel delays, strong crosswinds, low visibility in blowing snow, and icy roads.

Forecasters said the conditions would affect Highway 33 in Ventura County, Interstate 5 through The Grapevine and L.A. County's Antelope Valley (14) Freeway and Pearlblossom (138) Highway.

There were few weather warnings Tuesday stemming from the approaching storm, except a small craft advisory that will be in effect from 3 this afternoon until 9 Tuesday evening. It serves to warn novice sailors to stay out of the water, especially in small vessels, for which conditions will be hazardous.

The storm was in Northern California Tuesday morning, according to NWS meteorologist Todd Hall. Once it moves south, it will manifest itself mainly in the mountains, and "most of L.A won't see anything" other than "a few showers" adding up to perhaps a quarter-inch of rain, he said.

As if to prove the point, the weather service did not list rain anywhere in its 7-day Southland forecasts.

The expected volume of rain will be insufficient to trigger mudslides and debris flows, even over slopes denuded by wildfires, Hall said.

The NWS forecast mostly cloudy conditions Tuesday but sunny skies in the Antelope Valley and highs of 44 degrees on Mount Wilson; 59 in Lancaster; 60 in Palmdale; 61 in Lancaster and Avalon; 62 in Burbank; 63 in Pasadena, San Gabriel and Woodland Hills; 64 in Long Beach; and 65 in Downtown L.A. and at LAX. Partly cloudy skies are forecast for the next seven days, including Tuesday - - although sunny skies are expected Friday, when a warming trend will get underway.