A white Christmas for Southern California mountains? Cold winter storm in the forecast

It’ll be a snowy Christmas Day for some, a wet one for others and a cold one for all of Southern California.

Snow is coming to the region’s mountains, forecasters say, and the valleys in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties will see showers. There is a 30 percent chance of showers in most of those areas Christmas Day as the wintry weather and blast of cold air move in.

“We’re getting a storm system coming down from the Alaska area,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Casey Oswant. “It moves into our area and because of all the cold air, it’ll make (Southern California) cold.”

None of the precipitation will last beyond the holiday though.

“It won’t be very much (rain),” she said. “It will probably be about a tenth of an inch.”

But the cold air mixed with precipitation could make for snow-capped mountains and, brrr, a chill as well, when the winds blow through.

A winter weather advisory is in effect until 6 p.m. Christmas Day warning people of gusty winds.

That wind is expected to blow into most of the region Tuesday night, some of them as strong as 30 mph, taking with it the clouds and moisture.

The rain and snow should stop falling by Tuesday night, except in some higher mountain peaks. By Wednesday the skies will be mostly sunny but the cold temperatures will continue.

The storm could bring from one to three inches of snow above 5,500 feet and up to five inches at the highest elevations.

Mountain temperatures on the holiday will hover around freezing, while the valleys will be in the high 50s to 60s.

Authorities advise drivers to look out for slippery roads and be wary of lower visibility.

“The rest of the week we’ll be seeing temperatures that will be cooler than normal,” Oswant said. “It’ll definitely be five degrees cooler but it could definitely be 10 in some places.”

“Nights will be very cold,” according to a news release.