Cooler temperatures, rain and snow are on tap in SoCal, but fire weather is approaching

Southern California will get a break from the hot, dry weather this weekend as colder temperatures sweep in – bringing the chance of scattered rain and snow in the mountains.

But the Southland isn't out of the woods yet when it comes to fire weather. Warmer temperatures and Santa Ana winds are expected to return Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Scattered showers are forecast for much of the region from Friday night into Saturday morning, according to the weather service. Cooler temperatures are expected in Los Angeles, with overnight lows in the 40s and highs in the 60s on Saturday.

Mountains in San Bernardino and Riverside counties are expected to see snow accumulation Friday night, with accumulations of up to 2 inches in communities above 5,000 feet. A winter weather advisory is in effect for these areas until 10 p.m. Friday, according to the weather service.

November snow marks the start of the ski season. Big Bear's Snow Summit Ski Resort is scheduled to open on Nov. 23.

Mammoth Mountain opened for the season on Friday. Already, there are 12 inches of snow in the main lodge and 26 inches on the summit, with 3 to 5 inches expected to fall Friday afternoon and evening, according to a mountain report.

In Los Angeles and Ventura counties, wind advisories were in effect from noon to 8 p.m. Friday with gusts up to 45 mph sweeping through the region, according to the weather service.

Winds are expected to ease over the weekend and pick up again. back with Santa Anas from Tuesday to Thursday.

“Strong Santa Ana winds will likely bring low humidity in the 5% to 15% range during this time … temperatures rising into the 70s and 80s,” the weather service wrote in its Friday forecast. “As a result, severe fire weather conditions are still possible across parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties between Tuesday and Thursday.”

These storms are not expected to be as strong as the strong winds that fueled the spread of the Mountain Fire this month. Those high winds and low humidity prompted the weather service to issue a rare red flag warning for “particularly hazardous conditions” on Nov. 7, warning of “widespread, severe fire weather conditions.”

National Weather Service meteorologist Kristan Lund said the decision to issue red flag warnings will likely be made Sunday or Monday, but the risk will be much lower than it was two weeks ago.

“We can still have fire, but the fires will not grow as it happened with the Mount Tabani fire,” he said. “We will not have strong winds to push the fires quickly.”