Cold and Windy Weekend in Store for L.A.

Cold, blustery weather is expected in Los Angeles County this weekend, with overnight temperatures dropping into the 30s in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys and well below freezing in the Antelope Valley and the mountains.

Gale-force winds gusting at more than 40 mph in the valleys and more than 60 mph in the mountains will make it feel even colder, and there’s even a chance of some light snow showers above 4,000 feet.

Below-normal temperatures should continue through Thanksgiving, the National Weather Service said.

The wintry weather is being caused by a series of weak storm systems swinging down the coast and across Central California, forecasters said. They said these systems will stay too far north to bring significant precipitation to the Los Angeles area, but they’ll pass close enough to generate strong winds today and Sunday.

Tonight and Sunday night should have the coldest temperatures, with readings in the teens and 20s in the mountains and the Antelope Valley, the low to mid-30s in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys and the low 40s along the coast and in downtown Los Angeles.

Peak winds could make it feel as cold as 15 degrees in the valleys and 10 below zero in the mountains.

Skies will be partly cloudy today, mostly clear on Sunday and partly cloudy again through most of next week, the weather service said. Forecasters said temperatures should rise slightly as the week progresses, but still remain below normal, with top readings of about 65 degrees in downtown Los Angeles on Thanksgiving. They added that there’s a slight chance of rain over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Overall, the weather in Los Angeles is expected to be slightly cooler and wetter than normal in the next few weeks.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said there are signs of a budding El Nino oceanic and meteorological condition, during which Los Angeles sometimes receives much heavier rain than usual. However, NOAA said the condition is very mild and is not expected to have much impact on Southern California’s weather.