What Next for Shivering L.A., the Iditarod?

How cold was it Friday morning?

Colder, even, than parts of Alaska.

The thermometer dropped to 18 degrees atop Mt. Wilson just before dawn, a record for the date. The wind was gusting briskly, which drove the wind-chill factor there down to 11 degrees below zero. At that hour in Fairbanks, Alaska, it was 19 degrees, with a wind-chill factor of 2 below zero.

At 4 a.m. on Interstate 5 in the Tejon Pass, it was 23 degrees, the same temperature being reported in Anchorage.

At 5 a.m. in Lancaster, it was 32 degrees--and snowing.

Welcome to Southern California on the 19th day of spring.

And the weather isn’t expected to get much balmier until sometime next week.

Forecasters say that although it should be mostly sunny today, early morning temperatures probably will dip into the 30s in the coolest parts of the Los Angeles Basin.

Sunday morning should be almost as cool, and the meteorologists say that rain is likely by Sunday afternoon, with snow levels dipping down to about 3,500 feet on Sunday night and Monday morning.