The light showers that sprayed Southern California on Thursday night -- causing a burst of glee on social media -- likely won’t return until Sunday, forecasters say.

But even if the slight chance of rain pulls through, it won’t be much, said meteorologist Curt Kaplan with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

“It looks like a fairly light event again, less than a quarter-inch,” he said.

While the rain may be hardly noticeable, the drop in temperatures will be. After a period of above-normal temperatures that at times reached into the low 80s, the weather system is ushering in a significant cool-down.

For much of the next week, daytime temperatures aren’t expected to get past the low 60s in most areas, according to the weather service. And L.A. County’s top health officer issued a cold weather alert for the Mount Wilson and Antelope Valley areas through Tuesday as wind chill temperatures are expected below 32 degrees.

But it’s the chance of a rare rain shower that is keeping Angelenos in a state of hope after nearly an entire month without any measurable precipitation during what is typically one of the Southland’s wettest periods.

Residents and commuters took to Twitter on Thursday night as the first wave of possible rainfall swept across the region.

[View the story “Rain in L.A.?” on Storify]

Rain in L.A.?

In typical L.A. fashion, even a slight rain system was enough to cause a social media blitz Thursday night, especially after having gone nearly an entire month without precipitation (cue the obligatory bad driving tweets).

Storified by Los Angeles Times· Fri, Jan 31 2014 11:55:19

WINTER STORM WARNING I FELT A DROP OF RAINEric Bugna
@morosamt Today a very small amount of water fell from the sky. More than dew but less than a real storm. Still, I must call it rain.Hugh
Sprinkles on the window in Southern California that means major rain storm according to the weather man #overreacting https://t.co/QtLgaq6Adcchris bowman
Dear LA, thanks for the rain, but can you warm up again, please? thx, hashtag freezing...! (>.<);;Monica Lee
That was it? You call that rain? It’s as if god spit on us.La Ketch
TODAY something really rare in LA: RAIN!!! https://t.co/hLK1xrztFZ https://t.co/buuVnqjGjD https://t.co/eg2ME5ggdmPaulo Martins
It’s funny how LA people think this is “rain”... #LosAngeles #weathermikki
you guys: it’s lightly sprinkling rain in LA. Please expect a lot of tweets from people claiming the apocalypse is here.Trisha M
I’m grateful for the rain because we need the rain BUT people In LA CANT DRIVE IN THE RAIN.Natalie.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen rain in LAAndrew Hewitt
Rain is this much of a novelty. #LA https://t.co/qgmDtZdeQIBenjamin Hart

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