Snow for Mountains : Cool, Rainy Days Forecast; May Linger

The weekend will turn cooler under cloudy skies in Southern California, and heavy clouds have already moved into Northern and Central California in advance of a winter storm just reaching the West Coast, the National Weather Service said.

Heavy rains and snow at higher elevations are expected to accompany this storm system as it pushes southeast through the state today and tonight. Showers and thunderstorms that may hang around Southern California until the middle of next week could arrive as early as tonight.

A 30% chance of rain tonight will increase to 60% Sunday with the possibility of thundershowers, forecasters said. High temperatures expected in the mid-60s today will drop to the upper 50s Sunday. Low temperatures will hover in the upper 40s and low 50s. Friday’s high at the Los Angeles Civic Center was 72.

The chance of thundershowers associated with the approaching storm will remain until Wednesday when the clouds are expected to give way to sunny and warmer days.

The precipitation predicted for today is expected to fall as snow above 6,500 feet in the Southern California mountains. The snow level is expected to drop to 4,500 feet Sunday.

High desert areas will have only a slight chance of rain tonight, increasing on Sunday, with highs ranging from the mid-40s to the mid-50s. The low deserts, where rain is also forecast, should be about 10 degrees warmer.

Rain is forecast for much of Northern and Central California, with an average of 1 1/2 inches expected in the San Francisco Bay Area. That rain should taper off to decreasing showers by Sunday, with highs over the weekend in the mid-50s and lows in the mid-40s.