Winter storm to bring cold and windy Valentine’s Day evening to L.A.

If you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day with your sweetheart Tuesday, plan to spend the evening cuddling against the cold.

The National Weather Service issued a high surf advisory Tuesday morning as a winter storm passes through Los Angeles.

The advisory will last until 10 p.m. Wednesday and warns of “large breaking waves of 5 to 9 feet with dangerous rip currents.” Beachgoers should avoid the water and stay off of rock jetties, the weather service said.

The high surf will be accompanied by strong winds in L.A. starting around 4 or 5 p.m. Tuesday, said Lisa Phillips, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Oxnard.

The storm, an “inside slider” which comes from the north and brings “a lot of cold air into the area and gusty wind,” could down power lines and cause outages, she said. Such storms tend to bring less moisture than storms originating over the ocean.

The “slider” is cold air from Canada drifting downward along the West Coast, which will cause low temperatures across the region, especially Tuesday and Wednesday nights. The weather service issued storm-related warnings all the way from California’s northernmost coastal county, Del Norte County, to its southernmost, San Diego County.

Angelenos should be prepared for “strong wind through this evening” and cold temperatures through Thursday, when temperatures will rise, Phillips said. The storm may bring about an inch of snow along the 5 Freeway near the Grapevine, potentially causing traffic delays.

With temperatures expected to drop into the 30s, the L.A. County Department of Public Health issued a cold weather alert Sunday covering a large swath of the county. Downtown Los Angeles will be under a cold weather alert Wednesday.

Shelters are available for homeless Angelenos through the Winter Shelter Program. Those in need of shelter from the cold can call 211 to check availability of beds.