Weather Service Forecasts 30% Chance for Wet Weekend

There’s a 30% chance of rain in Orange County over the weekend, the National Weather Service said Thursday.

An upper-level storm system sliding down the coast from the Gulf of Alaska could bring showers to Southern California by Saturday, and might even hang around to dampen things on and off for two or three days, forecasters said.

Although the outlook was far from certain, the National Weather Service said Southland skies probably will become cloudy tonight after some patchy fog this morning, and the 30% possibility for rain will come on Saturday afternoon. Temperatures will drop a bit.

The weather service said the front--if it gets this far--could settle in off the coast for a brief, but leisurely, stay. The extended forecast was for more clouds and showers Sunday and Monday, with partial clearing and breezes on Tuesday.

High temperatures in the region should be in the mid-60s to mid-70s today, falling a little over the weekend. Coastal area lows will be in the mid-40s to mid-50s. Thursday’s maximum reading in Santa Ana was 73 degrees. The high was 75 at the Los Angeles Civic Center.

There is a chance of Saturday-through-Monday showers, too, in the Southern California mountains, where the snow level will be 7,000 feet. There will be south to southwest winds 15 to 25 m.p.h. this afternoon through Saturday. High temperatures at the resorts should be in the 50s today and in the mid-40s over the weekend.

There may be some showers in the deserts, where there will also be some wind.

Surf should average 2 feet from Zuma to Mission Beach through Saturday.

Offshore, there will be light, variable winds through tonight, with some locally stronger gusts from Point Concepcion to Santa Rosa Island.