Rainy, cooler weather moves into Southern California

Norbert Nagel from Denver and his sister Susan Gobbel from Riverside take in the view in Signal Hill as rainy weather moves into the area Tuesday afternoon.

March 21, 2017 8:10 AM PT

Keep those umbrellas handy this week, folks. A wet week is on tap for the Southland, with the first of several storm systems moving into the region Tuesday morning.

Rainfall was reported in Ventura, as well as in Van Nuys and at Los Angeles International Airport by 7 a.m. Tuesday, said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist for the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Precipitation was expected to increase throughout the day.

By Tuesday night, Los Angeles is forecast to get about a third of an inch of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Coastal areas between Malibu and Cambria could see a half-inch to an inch of precipitation Tuesday.

The storm system will usher in high winds, and the Antelope Valley is under a wind advisory until 8 p.m. Tuesday, with winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts of up to 45 mph possible, Seto said.

The mountain areas will be even windier, Seto said.

Wednesday holds the best chance for scattered thunderstorms, with a 20% chance throughout the area, Seto said.

Snow levels could drop to 5,000 feet, especially along the Tejon Pass on Interstate 5, forecasters said.

Thursday is forecast to be dry before another storm system originating in the Gulf of Alaska moves in, according to the weather service. A cold front is expected to move south over the area Friday afternoon. Although areas north of Point Conception in Santa Barbara County will get more rain, there also is precipitation forecast for areas farther south, forecasters said.

That system could bring gusty northerly winds across southern Santa Barbara County and along the Interstate 5 corridor.

That front likely will exit the region over the weekend before yet another storm system quickly passes through between Sunday and Monday, bringing gusty winds and possible light rainfall, according to the weather service.

Seto said it is common in the spring for storm systems to move in from the north and pass rapidly through Southern California.

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