Winter’s coming to Southern California: Storm to bring rain and snow
The weather outside may be frightful, or to some delightful, this coming Thanksgiving as a storm is set to bring rain and snow to Southern California.
Tuesday, Nov. 26, is expected to cool off and bring in more clouds that will deliver heavy rain by Wednesday and Thursday, said Noel Isla, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
That may put a damper on plans for those traveling on the roads or in the air for the holiday, with the Auto Club of Southern California estimating that 4.3 million local residents plan to trek more than 50 miles for the occasion.
“In terms of snow, this is more than we’ve seen so far,” Isla said. “For drivers, just be careful during the rain and snow weather. … Really, just use common sense.”
Also watch for advisories and road closures as they can be issued on short notice, he said. Caltrans has warned motorists traveling to higher elevations to have tire chains accessible.
Much of Southern California could get one to two inches of rain with three possible near foothills. Forecasters warn of thunderstorms in some areas, which could cause flooding that may prompt runoff in areas recently burned by wildfires.
Snow is expected to get as low as the 3,500- to 4,000-foot elevation, with snow hitting mountain passes, such as the Cajon Pass that the 15 Freeway slices through beginning Wednesday night, and along the Ortega Highway through the Santa Ana Mountains beginning late Thanksgiving night.
Thursday, temperatures in most areas, apart from the mountains, will be in the 50s during the day and low 40s at night.
In the San Fernando Valley, for example, the holiday temperature will be 54 degrees during the day and 41 at night. In Whittier the temperature will top out at 56 degrees. Anaheim will reach 55 degrees during the day and cool to 44 at night.
Along the coast, Long Beach will get to 54 degrees and Redondo Beach is to hit 55.
But up in the mountains, the landscape is expected to turn white.
At about the 4,000-foot level, the forecast calls for up to three inches of snow Wednesday though Friday. At 5,500 feet, there could be six to 12 inches and above that expect a healthy one to three feet of 12 snowfall.
At Big Bear Lake, on Thursday, the day temperatures will peak at a frosty 29 degrees during the day and at night dip to about 16 degrees.
By Friday, Southern California is expected to get mostly sunny skies, though temperatures will still be brisk.