Cooler weather and potential rain is expected this week, forecasters said.
National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Tardy said the rain could be significant for southern California, which has not seen any rainfall since Nov. 30.
"Right now, it looks like the main storm — it's a slow-moving storm — is targeting the L.A. Basin area, with part of the storm moving down into San Diego," he said. "Now, we could see rain as early as Tuesday afternoon, but the majority of the rain looks like it'll come into our region here in southern California on Thursday and Thursday night."
Tardy said northern San Diego County is expected to be hit by the storm the hardest, with the most rainfall.
Along the coast, partly cloudy conditions are expected through Tuesday, with chances of mild showers beginning Wednesday and daytime temperatures hitting the low 70s. Inland valley areas are expected to be clear and partly cloudy through Friday, with highs reaching the upper 70s.
In addition to rain, the coastal areas could be pummeled by wind Wednesday into Thursday, Tardy said.
"We could see along the immediate coast and urban areas, wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph," he said. "That can cause some impact to things that are not secured or even down branches."
The desert areas are expected to see highs in the lower 70s throughout the week, with highs ranging from the upper 50s to mid-60s in the mountains.
Snowfall was predicted at elevations above 7,000 feet.
"Initially, not a whole lot of snow because of the warmer air and the showers and thunderstorms," Tardy said. "But when we get into Thursday and Friday ... when the colder air sweeps in slowly from the west, we'll start seeing that significant heavy, wet snow piling up."
