Clouds, Rain Expected New Year’s Weekend

Put away the suntan lotion and break out the bagpipes, a National Weather Service forecaster advised for New Year’s weekend.

“The weather is going to be ugly,” Vladimir Ryshko said. “It’s going to be a lot like Scotland.”

Ryshko said there is a 20% chance of rain Saturday and a 30% chance Sunday. Skies will remain overcast and gloomy through Monday.

“At some point it will rain,” he said, adding that the expected rain “will not be overwhelming, but carry an umbrella anyway.”

He said temperatures will reach the high 50s and 60s today and Sunday, and the lows will be in the mid-40s.

It will get colder on Monday and the chance of rain will increase on Tuesday, he said. “It looks like it will be chilly and showery,” he said.

While travelers and revelers are bundling up and packing rain gear, the California Highway Patrol warns against driving drunk, especially during one of the agency’s busiest weekends.

“We will have increased patrols,” said CHP spokeswoman Staci Morse.

She said up to 20 officers will patrol county highways at any given time this weekend. At least eight of them will be searching exclusively for drunk drivers.

She said the CHP expects traffic to be heavier than usual on the freeways but no slowdowns are expected unless accidents occur.

“Don’t be a looky-loo” she said. “That’s what slows things down.”

Last year, two people died in county traffic accidents over the New Year’s weekend.