Storm Expected to Hit Region by End of Week

Morning drizzle expected today along the coast should give way to rain later this week as a cold front from the Gulf of Alaska moves into Southern California, forecasters said Monday.

The storm is expected to bring cooler temperatures and spring showers, leaving as much as .75 inch of rain along the coast, 1.5 inches inland and up to three inches in the mountains, said National Weather Service meteorologist Brad Fujii.

Fujii said the chance of rain is slight Thursday and Friday.

“But we should get wet by Saturday,” he said.

Temperatures in the upper 50s to low 60s on Thursday and Friday should drop into the low to mid-50s Saturday, said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist with WeatherData, which forecasts weather for The Times. But warm temperatures are expected to return after the weekend, he said.

“It looks like after this little bout of rain, an upper-level ridge will keep things dry,” Brack said.

Forecasters said air quality should be good this week because of the oncoming storm, but as April approaches, air quality could worsen, said Kent Field, a forecaster with the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District.

“We’re about done with the rain, and when we get high pressure in here it could mean ozone again,” Field said.

Although the smog season does not officially start until May 1, forecasters say unseasonably warm temperatures have caused increases in ozone levels.

“Ozone doesn’t always follow the political rules,” Field said. “We start watching when the weather patterns start changing and we’re starting to get into spring weather.”