Cooler Weather Greets Southland, Rain Expected by Monday

After several days of above-normal temperatures, many Southland residents were greeted with cloudy and cooler conditions Friday, beginning a cool-down that is expected to culminate in rain by Monday.

“Skies will be partly to mostly cloudy through Sunday,” according to the National Weather Service. “It will be cloudy Sunday with rain developing during the venting and persisting into Monday evening. Away from the coast, temperatures will remain above normal through Saturday then plunge to below normal by Monday afternoon.”

Clouds will develop slowly over the weekend, but a system will arrive by late Sunday that looks to be “our most significant storm of the month,” forecasters said.

The rain is not expected to start falling until Sunday night. But it will be noticeably cooler, with temperatures dropping between 10 and 15 degrees by Sunday.

Moderate rates of rain are anticipated Monday morning, with steadier showers anticipated by Monday afternoon. Forecasters said between a half-inch and 1.5 inches of rain are possible on the coast and in the valleys.

Here is a detailed forecast from the National Weather Service:

Today: Patchy dense fog before 11 a.m. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight: Increasing clouds, with a low around 54. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Sunday: Patchy fog before 11 a.m. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 72. Southeast wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Sunday Night: A 50 percent chance of rain after 11 p.m. Increasing clouds, with a low around 52. South southeast wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Monday: Rain, with thunderstorms also possible after 11 a.m. High near 59. Breezy, with a south wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. The chance of precipitation is 100%.

Monday Night: Rain and possibly a thunderstorm before 11 pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 11 p.m. Low around 49. The chance of precipitation is 90%.

Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 11 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 68.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 49.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71.

Wednesday Night: Patchy fog after 11 pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 52.

Thursday: Patchy fog. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 69.

Thursday Night: Patchy fog. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 50.

Friday: Patchy fog. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 71.