It Will Finally Rain in Southern California. Cue the Risk of Mudslides.

Rain and cooler temperatures will bring relief to Southern California this weekend, after a prolonged stretch of dry, breezy weather that allowed wildfires to thrive.The parched landscape between Los Angeles and San Diego hasn’t seen any significant precipitation so far this winter, providing plenty of dry vegetation to fuel the fires.A storm system forecast to move across the region Saturday through Monday will change that.But there’s also a slight chance that the rain could be on the heavier side — up to half an inch per hour, said Brian Hurley, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

That could trigger flash floods and mudslides in places scarred by the Palisades, Eaton and Hughes fires, and in areas burned by smaller blazes over the past two weeks.Winds remained fairly strong on Thursday, requiring yet another round of red-flag warnings.But the warm, dry pattern and Santa Ana winds will begin to shift on Friday, with a coastal sea breeze pushing moist cool air off the ocean.

Light showers could fall as early as Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, where fires are still burning.The greatest chance for rain will come on Sunday, with light showers lingering into Monday.Parts of Los Angeles, including downtown, could receive as much as an inch of rain, said Brian Lewis, a Weather Service forecaster in Oxnard, Calif.“We’re not expecting high rainfall rates unless a thunderstorm goes right over that area,” he said, adding that there was a 10 to 20 percent chance of isolated thunderstorms.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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