A cold, winter-like storm system out of the Gulf of Alaska trundled toward the Southland today, threatening showers and possibly thunderstorms, lightning strikes, hail, high winds, waterspouts, and minor mud and debris flows over slopes previously denuded by wildfires, forecasters said.
The storm system, which was over the Gulf of Alaska this morning, is expected to make itself felt in the Southland late Thursday into Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
With the storm, the snow level will dip to around 5,500 feet, which may result in challenging winter-weather driving conditions, NWS forecasters said.
“Showers and thunderstorms could also adversely affect rush hour commutes,” warned a statement on the website of the NWS monitoring station in Oxnard.
The storm is not expected to generate huge volumes of rain, with most areas likely to receive less than a quarter-inch, said NWS meteorologist Kathy Hoxsie, although a great deal more than that, plus small hail, will fall where any thunderstorms develop.
After the impending storm, “a couple more” may strike the Southland, but for Southern California, the storm season is close to being at an end, Hoxsie said.
Temperature highs today will be in the high 60s and low 70s under partly cloudy skies. As of today, they are forecast to be only a few degrees lower when showers douse the region Thursday and Friday.
