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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - After several days of above-normal temperatures, many Southland residents were greeted with cloudy and cooler conditions today, beginning a cool-down that is expected to culminate in rain by Monday.
``Skies will be partly to mostly cloudy through Sunday,'' according to the National Weather Service. ``It will be cloudy Sunday with rain developing during the venting and persisting into Monday evening. Away from the coast, temperatures will remain above normal through Saturday then plunge to below normal by Monday afternoon.''
Forecasters noted that dense fog enveloped many coastal areas Friday morning, but conditions were improving by mid-morning. Dense fog advisories issued by the NWS early Monday were allowed to expire by 9 a.m. Temperatures were also down in many areas by as much as 8 degrees from where they were on Thursday.
Clouds will develop slowly over the weekend, but a system will arrive by late Sunday that looks to be ``our most significant storm of the month,'' forecasters said.
The rain is not expected to start falling until Sunday night -- likely meaning Sunday afternoon red-carpet arrivals for the Oscars should be spared, although the arrivals line is covered just in case. But it will be noticeably cooler, with temperatures dropping between 10 and 15 degrees by Sunday.
Moderate rates of rain are anticipated Monday morning, with steadier showers anticipated by Monday afternoon. Forecasters said between a half-inch and 1.5 inches of rain are possible on the coast and in the valleys, with one to three inches possible in foothills and mountains.
The snow level will fall to about 6,000 feet by Monday, ``with possible significant amounts above 7,000 feet,'' forecasters said.
Stormy conditions are expected to clear out by late Tuesday, with temperatures again climbing by 5 to 10 degrees, according to the NWS.