Cold Weather Will Follow Wet Storm

A nippy, wet Alaskan Gulf storm -- so vast it covers the entire width of California -- is predicted to reel across the Southland tonight, bringing dismal, Seattle-style rain to the basin and snow to ski areas.

The big, cold storm might even spin off some surprises, such as thunderstorms and snowfall in strange places. The Antelope Valley, for example, has a small chance of being swathed in a rare, thin blanket of white, said meteorologist Jamie Smith of the National Weather Service. As much as 2 inches of snow could fall there, she said.

As for the mountains, a true winter wonderland is in store. Any elevation above 7,000 feet is likely to get a foot to 18 inches of snow, and Big Bear should get at least 6 inches.

For most of Los Angeles, however, the storm promises only a soggy, Pacific Northwest-style weekend, with drizzle, and more drizzle, today and Saturday.

Angelenos looking for dramatic, storm drain-swelling downpours will be disappointed. This storm “will be more showery in nature,” Smith said, “with not a lot of intense periods of heavy, heavy rain.”

The rain and possible thunderstorms will churn through Saturday, then subside. The chance of showers Sunday dwindles to 30%, Smith said.

But once the rain is gone, the cold will come.

Temperatures Sunday night are predicted to fall into the upper 30s. That’s because lots of drizzle brings cool air in its wake, a product of all that evaporating water, Smith said.

The storm passed over Northern California on Thursday and turned out to be wetter than meteorologists first predicted. It was so turbulent that weather watchers glimpsed a funnel cloud -- a tornado that does not touch the ground -- over Sacramento on Thursday afternoon.

The wet-cold punch it is expected to deliver locally this weekend is the result of an unstable brew: very cold temperatures in the upper atmosphere, winds at the surface and moist air moving in from the ocean, Smith said.

Just how much rain will fall will depend on whether the storm picks up its pace when it gets here.

The slower it goes, the soggier things will be, she said.

“Sometimes they will hit L.A. County and sit, sometimes they will speed right through,” Smith said.

“Really, it’s just the way all the ingredients come together,” she added. “It’s like you don’t know how a cake will turn out till it gets out of the oven.”