L.A. area to see showers, heavy downpours this weekend

Los Angeles County residents can expect scattered showers and “pretty heavy downpours” in some parts of the region on Saturday, forecasters said.

Some scattered showers are expected Friday night but Saturday will likely be the wettest day of the weekend, said Dave Gomberg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Five- to 15-minute bursts of rain are expected throughout the city from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.

“Most areas will see rain but the rainfall amount and intensity will be variable,” he said.

The daylong rains Saturday are the result of a “monsoon-like” system that has stalled off the Southern California coast all week and should dissipate by Sunday, according to Gomberg. The system has mostly caused rain in the mountains and along the coast so far, he said.

In monsoon season, a high-pressure weather pattern hanging over the Four Corner states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico causes winds to rotate clockwise around and hit Southern California with muggy air or rain.

Thunderstorms are also possible in Los Angeles County on Saturday and beachgoers are cautioned to be on the lookout for lightning, Gomberg said. Temperatures in the region are expected to range from the low 60s to the low 70s.