Looming Storms To Bring Dramatic Weather Shift To SoCal

LOS ANGELES, CA — Southern California is expected to see a dramatic shift in the weather Sunday as the dry, warm conditions brought by Santa Ana winds this week give way to cooler temperatures and rain.

The National Weather Service warns the next three days are a "literal calm before the storm," with dry weather and above-average temperatures expected during the day across the region through at least Saturday. Rain could begin to hit Southern California Sunday and possibly continue throughout the entirety of next week.

Weak northeast Santa Ana winds are expected to continue Thursday, with a shift to stronger east-southeast winds Friday. Wind speeds of 25-40 mph are expected, mostly in the mountains and foothills, with gusts of up to 50 mph, according to the NWS.

Temperatures will continue to warm into the weekend, hitting the 70 to 80-degree range by Sunday, with the warmest temperatures further inland. Overall, temperatures will be between 6 and 15 degrees above normal across SoCal, the NWS said.

"A storm system moving into the eastern Pacific may bring rain to the region as early as late this weekend with off-and-on rain much of next week," the weather service said.

A change in weather is coming soon. This week will see dry weather with gusty winds and warming temps. On Sunday, areas of Southwest California may see some rain. Rain chances continue through Monday 12/25. #CAwx #SoCal #Rain pic.twitter.com/0W9oIUrSWB
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) December 12, 2023

Thanks to the storm's slow eastward progression, showers are likely to be scattered on Sunday with a chance of rain as far south as Orange County and as far east as San Bernardino County later in the day, according to the National Weather Service.

Light, intermittent showers are possible across LA, the Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego Monday through Wednesday. Though forecasters say they have low confidence in the exact timing and amounts at this point, the most likely scenario is a half-inch to three inches of rain, according to the weather service.

The storm is expected to bring much cooler temperatures across the region next week, with temps falling 4 to 8 degrees Sunday before hitting the 60s across much of the Southland early next week.

Then "the storm door remains open for the rest of the week," the NWS said, as a second, stronger low is forecast to rotate out of the Gulf of Alaska. Forecasters have what they admit is a "wishy-washy" forecast for Wednesday through Saturday — at this point, they're saying there's a chance of rain every day.

"Right now there is a chance that this system could produce a day of significant rainfall totals and rates, but we'll have to wait until it shows a little more of its hand for a more exact forecast," the National Weather Service announced.