Santa Ana Heat in Marina Del Rey To Give Way to Cold Weekend Rain

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Southland will bask in unseasonably warm weather for a second day Friday, but temperatures will drop precipitously Saturday -- by 15 degrees in downtown L.A. -- and rain will douse the region on Sunday, forecasters said.

Friday's weather will be warm, as was Thursday's, thanks to high pressure aloft caused by an upper-level ridge and to Santa Ana winds, but the wind will shift beginning Friday afternoon, giving way to cool sea breezes, said National weather Service meteorologist Curt Kaplan.

The rain will result from a trough out of the gulf of Alaska and will not be particularly intensive, producing about a quarter of an inch, but three- quarters of an inch in the mountains and foothills, he said.

While above normal, temperatures will not be reaching record territory Friday, forecasters said. The NWS forecast sunny skies in Los Angeles County and highs of 62 degrees Fahrenheit on Mount Wilson; 71 in Avalon; 72 in Palmdale and Lancaster; 73 in Saugus; 77 at LAX; 78 in San Gabriel and Burbank; 79 in Pasadena; 80 in Long Beach; 81 in downtown L.A.; and 82 in Woodland Hills.

Sunny weather was also forecast in Orange County, along with highs of 69 in Newport Beach; 70 in Laguna Beach and San Clemente; 78 in Anaheim and Mission Viejo; 79 in Fullerton; 80 in Irvine; and 81 in Yorba Linda.

Temperatures are forecast to be sharply lower amid partly cloudy skies on Saturday, with the greatest temperature dips occurring in Long Beach (16 degrees) as well as Woodland Hills and downtown L.A., with both going down 15 degrees. A similar though slightly less severe temperature drop will occur in Orange County, where temperatures will fall by up to 13 degrees in some communities.

Temperatures will drop by another several degrees -- up to 12 -- on Sunday, amid rainfall, followed by several days of dry weather.

City News Service; Photo via Shutterstock