Chilly Rainstorm From Alaska Due to Soak Southland Today

A series of winter storms that began moving into Southern California overnight is expected to keep the Southland damp and chilly through the early part of the week, meteorologists said Saturday.

By dawn today, rainy weather is expected to hit much of Southern California, said Coralie Cushny, a spokeswoman for WeatherData of Wichita, Kan., a meteorology service that provides forecasts to The Times. The storm is expected to linger throughout the day and could drop more than a half inch of rain in the Los Angeles basin and more than a foot of snow in the local mountains.

“That’s a pretty big storm for Southern California,” Cushny said. “It’s pretty dry there and you don’t normally get that much rain in one storm.”

Following a pattern similar to the storm that blew through Southern California last week, the weather system “came diving down from the Gulf of Alaska,” Cushny said.

Consequently, the storm is expected to keep temperatures throughout the day in the high 50s and the low 60s, Cushny said. Overnight temperatures for tonight are expected to dip to the low 40s.

After experiencing a clearing on Monday, Cushny said, the area is expected to receive more rainfall on Tuesday and Wednesday as the jet stream pulls more cold, moist air from the icy waters off Alaska.

Snow levels in the Tehachepi Mountains are expected to drop to 4,000 feet as a result of the series of storms. Gusting winds, drifting snow and areas of dense fog are expected to further complicate mountain travel.

The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies on Thursday, Cushny said.