By Reginald Stanley. Posted January 30, 2024, 3:24 PM.

Unseasonably warm, sunny, dry weather this week will transition to cooler, cloudier and wetter weather late in the week and potentially early next week as multiple storms take aim at California.

The National Weather Service has issued Flood Watches for interior portions of Southern California, as well as Winter Storm Watches for the mountains from Thursday morning through Friday morning. Widespread rainfall, potentially heavy at times, is expected for Thursday, before becoming more showery in nature for Friday. Between 1 and 1.5 inches of rain are predicted for the valleys, up to 2 inches for the coasts, between 2 and 3 inches for the mountains, and around 0.5 inches for the deserts through the end of Friday. Snow levels are expected to start out between 6500 and 7000 feet above sea level on Thursday, before falling sharply to 4500 feet on Friday. Elevations above 7000 feet are expected to receive heavy snow with large accumulations. Gusty winds from the south are also forecast during this storm, due to the storm's southerly flow.

Unsettled weather briefly pauses for the weekend, mainly Saturday which is currently expected to be mostly dry. There is potential for additional rounds of widespread precipitation across the region again early next week, however timing and intensity remain uncertain at this time. Below-average temperatures are predicted from Thursday through early next week.