Los Angeles could see a light soaking this weekend, with a storm system bringing intermittent showers to most areas from late morning Saturday through the evening and overnight. Rainfall totals are expected to stay under a quarter-inch and likely one-tenth of an inch or less, with no flooding or debris flows expected.
Saturday is expected to be a cool day, with highs in the 60s in many areas and temperatures as much as 10 degrees below normal. Gusty winds are likely to develop in the evening, and wind advisories are possible in the Antelope Valley. There is also a slight chance of morning rain Sunday, before the departing system leaves behind clearing skies and warmer temperatures.
The weekend wet weather is modest, but it arrives as Southern California moves toward the end of its rainy season, which typically peters out in April. That makes the region’s overall water-year tally more important than this one system. Downtown Los Angeles has picked up roughly 18.98 inches of rain since Oct. 1, compared with a normal 13.57 inches at this point in the water year.
The forecast also comes against a wider drought backdrop in the mountains, where California is enduring its second-worst snow drought in 50 years. Even so, this storm is not expected to change the picture much: rainfall rates should stay below a quarter-inch per hour, Monday is projected to be partly cloudy with high temperatures in the mid-to-upper 60s in coastal areas and the lower 70s in the valleys, and Tuesday carries only a slight chance of rain, most likely in the evening. By Wednesday, the weather turns dry again, with maximum temperatures a few degrees below normal.
For now, the answer to the question of whether weather Los Angeles will turn disruptive this weekend is no. The rain should be brief, light and manageable, more of a cool-season reminder than a threat.