First significant storm of season will bring rain, snow to Southern California

The first considerable storm of the season will hit Southern California overnight, bringing rain and snow ahead of the new year.

Rain will move into Ventura and Los Angeles counties Sunday evening, with the first peak after midnight into mid-morning Monday, according to David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

A second wave will cross L.A. County later in the afternoon Monday and will continue into the early evening. Although that wave is expected to be more intense, it’s expected to be shorter in duration, Sweet said.

Half an inch to an inch of rain is expected for coastal and valley areas and one to two inches in the foothills. In the mountains, six to 12 inches of snow is expected and there might be an inch or two of snow accumulating on top of the Grapevine late Monday.

“It’s a very healthy storm,” Sweet said. “Hopefully this will relieve our high fire danger for a period of time. I can’t say it’ll relieve it entirely, but it might provide at least a brief respite.”

Temperatures are expected to drop to the 50s on Monday throughout the region, with a high of 57 degrees expected in downtown Los Angeles. The rain is expected to clear up by Tuesday, but temperatures will remain on the cool side.

A cold weather alert is in effect through Wednesday for parts of Lancaster and the Santa Clarita Valley, with near-freezing or freezing temperatures expected overnight in those areas, according to the weather service.