Winter storm expected to hit L.A. soon

A winter storm is headed toward Los Angeles today, with heavy rains expected during the afternoon commute, forecasters said.

Flash-flood warnings will remain in effect from 1 p.m. until late tonight in areas blackened by wildfires, as well as Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Long Beach and other coastal communities, said Stan Wasowski, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in San Diego.

Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo are also threatened with flooding, Wasowski said.

The cold, low-pressure system moving in from the Central Coast may bring up to 2 inches of rainfall in coastal and valley areas, with more expected in the mountains and foothills, forecasters said. The weather service also warned of possible debris flows in burn areas.

Snow is expected to blanket the Grapevine area around Interstate 5.

Los Angeles County mountains, with the exception of the Santa Monica range, will remain under a winter storm warning through Thursday morning, with close to 2 feet of snow expected to fall as low as 3,000 feet, Wasowski said. Blowing snow is expected to sharply reduce visibility, making travel into the mountains hazardous.

Area freeways remained open this morning, said Officer Francisco Villalobos of the California Highway Patrol.

Highway Patrol officers were slowing traffic in both directions on Interstate 5 near Gorman because of falling snow, some of which is sticking to the roadway, said CHP Officer Jason Bettini.

“It’s snowing pretty good,” Bettini said.

susannah.rosenblatt@latimes.com