Cold front expected to hit this weekend; burn areas on alert

9:36 AM | December 11, 2008

Updated at 11:33 a.m.

Unusually chilly weather and, possibly, snow will descend upon Southern California this weekend and linger into the middle of next week, prompting alerts in areas burned in last month's fires.

Temperatures are expected to drop into the mid-40s Saturday night, with a 30% chance of showers, said Bill Hoffer, a spokesman with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. The coldest, rainiest part of the storm –- which is making its way from Alaska and the North Pole -- will likely hit the region on Sunday and continue through Wednesday, with some days expected to dip into the 50s with a 40% chance of showers.

Snow will likely fall in mountain areas above 3,000 feet around the Angeles National Forest but could drop down to 2,000 feet by Tuesday night, Hoffer said.

"This is going to be our first whopper snowstorm of the season," said Bill Patzert, a climatologist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge. "You get one of these every five to 10 years."

--Jia-Rui Chong and Paloma Esquivel

What we are seeing is an abrupt downshift of an unusually warm fall into winter, with temperatures about four degrees above normal in the last three months descending into temperatures that are below normal, Patzert said.

The Los Angeles Basin will move quickly from highs in the 80s -- as were forecast for parts of the area today -- into highs in the 50s.

"If you want to put it in terms of winners and losers," Patzert said, "surfers could be winners. Skiers and water managers could be winners. Losers could be the highway patrol and people who live in burn areas."

In Yorba Linda on Thursday, city officials were putting out warning signs and preparing for possible mudslides on the slopes burned by last month’s Freeway Complex fire. Neighborhoods including Box Canyon, Brush Canyon, North Fairmont and San Antonio are considered at high risk of mudslides in rainy weather, officials said.

"Mud and debris flows may occur without warning or evacuation notices," said Mark Stowell, the city’s public works director. "We’ll do our best to evacuate, but something could trigger one without warning. People need to be ready."

He asked residents to take measures to protect against mudflows, including sandbagging to keep flows from going inside their homes. Sandbags are available for free at many local parks listed on the city’s website.