Rain, snow to roll into Southern California on Monday

At least an inch of rain is expected to fall across the region starting early Monday morning, meteorologists said.

A late-season storm is expected to bring at least 1 to 3 inches of rain throughout the region on Monday, March 28, meteorologists said.

After a few warm days this week, there will be a gradual cooling trend through the weekend with the precipitation expected to begin late Sunday night into early Monday, forecasters said Friday. Most coastal areas are expected to see between 1 to 2 inches of rain, with up to 3 inches in the foothill areas.

“Since the beginning of the year we’ve been very dry, with very little rainfall,” said Rich Thompson, a National Weather Service meteorologist. “This storm will produce quite a bit of rainfall.”

There will be scattered showers on Monday through the night, with possible thunderstorms in the afternoon, Thompson said.

Mountain areas in higher elevations, at around 7,000 feet, are expected to see some snow.

The Los Angeles County mountains, particularly in ski resort areas, could see 6 to 12 inches of snow, Thompson said.

The San Bernardino and Riverside county mountains could see snow levels fall a bit throughout the storm to around 6,000 feet, with anywhere between 3 to 6 inches of snow, said Brian Adams, another National Weather Service meteorologist.

There will be some gusty winds with the storm and motorists should drive with caution, especially with the rain on Monday morning, Adams said.