Winter Weather Watch in Effect, LA and Ventura County Mountains

OVERNIGHT A FAST MOVING FRONT WILL SWEEP INTO THE AREA. RAIN WILL BECOME LIKELY DURING THE EVENING ACROSS THE CENTRAL COAST...RAIN WILL THEN DEVELOP EVERYWHERE BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAWN WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF THE EASTERN HALF OF L.A. COUNTY WHICH MIGHT STAY DRY UNTIL DAWN. IT WILL BE WINDY AHEAD OF THE FRONT WITH SOUTHWEST ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS DEVELOPING OVER THE MTNS AND INTERIOR VLYS OF SLO AND SBA COUNTIES AS WELL AS THE ANTELOPE VLY.

Hazardous Driving Conditions will persist over MTN Passes:

SNOW LEVELS WILL LIKELY START OUT ABOVE 7000 FEET TONIGHT...BUT COULD BE A BIT LOWER ACROSS NORTH FACING SLOPES DUE TO COLD AIR TRAPPED IN PLACE. SNOW LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO LOWER TO AROUND 5000 FEET BEHIND THE FRONT ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...THEN PLUMMET QUICKLY WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS A SURGE OF VERY COLD AIR ENTERS INTO THE AREA FROM THE NORTH. THE GRAPEVINE ALONG INTERSTATE 5 WILL LIKELY BE IMPACTED BY SNOW SHOWERS BY WEDNESDAY EVENING...WITH SNOW FALLING AS LOW AS 2000 FEET BY EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. THIS TYPE OF LOW SNOW LEVEL WILL PUT AREAS SUCH AS THE CUYAMA VALLEY...CARRIZO PLAIN...FOOTHILLS OF THE ANTELOPE VALLEY...AND PORTIONS OF INTERSTATE 14 THROUGH SOLEDAD CANYON AT RISK FOR A FEW SNOW SHOWERS. NORTH FACING MOUNTAIN SLOPES NEAR THE KERN COUNTY LINE...INCLUDING THE GRAPEVINE AREA...WILL LIKELY SEE MORE SUBSTANTIAL ACCUMULATIONS...POSSIBLY IN THE 4 TO 8 INCH RANGE. WITH THE SURGE OF VERY COLD AIR...ICY CONDITIONS WILL BE LIKELY ACROSS MOUNTAIN AREAS THAT RECEIVE PRECIPITATION WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING...ADDING TO THE TREACHEROUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. WINDS WILL ALSO BE A PROBLEM FOR THE MTNS OF L.A. AND VTA COUNTIES WITH ADVISORY LEVEL SOUTHWEST WIND GUSTS OF 55 MPH TO DEVELOP OVERNIGHT TONIGHT AND THEN TURN STRONGLY TO THE NORTH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. SO EVEN THOUGH THE SNOW AND WINDS ARE SOME WHAT OUT OF PHASE ISSUED A SINGLE WINTER STORM WATCH TO COVER ALL OF THE HAZARDS EXPECTED FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON. THAT BRINGS US TO THE WINDS...IN THE WAKE OF WEDNESDAY MORNING`S COLD FRONT A SURGE OF VERY COLD AIR WILL SLAM INTO THE AREA. GOOD COLD AIR ADVECTION IS THE ONE THING THAT ALMOST GUARANTEES A STRONG WIND EVENT...THE MORE COLD AIR THAT POURS IN...THE MORE WIND THAT DEVELOPS. NORTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE SHARPLY ACROSS THE REGION DURING WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. THE NORTHWEST TO NORTH WINDS WILL PEAK WEDNESDAY NIGHT...AND WILL REMAIN STRONG THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. A COLD AND DEEP UPPER TROUGH DIGGING INTO THE GREAT BASIN WILL HELP THE WINDS ALONG BY ADDING A PROLONGED PERIOD OF STRONG UPPER LEVEL WIND SUPPORT. DURING THE PEAK OF THIS WIND EVENT WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING...MOUNTAIN AREAS COULD SEE DAMAGING WINDS OVER 70 MPH. OTHER AREAS AT RISK FOR POTENTIAL DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH INCLUDE THE SANTA BARBARA SOUTH COAST...ANTELOPE VALLEY...AND SANTA CLARITA VALLEY. HIGH WIND WATCHES ARE IN EFFECT WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON FOR THE SBA COUNTY MTNS AND SOUTH COAST AND THE ANTELOPE VLY. MANY OTHER AREAS ESPECIALLY THOSE NEAR NORTH/SOUTH PASSES AND CANYONS WILL LIKELY NEED WIND ADVISORIES AS THE EVENT DRAWS NEARER. IN ADDITION...THE STRONG WINDS COMBINED WITH A VERY COLD AIR MASS COULD BRING THE COLDEST WIND CHILL READINGS OF THE SEASON SO FAR...PERHAPS REACHING DANGEROUS LEVELS IN THE MOUNTAINS.