Gloomy weather expected to continue through the weekend

Fog and drizzle are forecast for much of Southern California through the weekend as a low-pressure system moves through the region, bringing with it a chance of thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service.

Not strong enough to be considered a “cold front,” a “trough of low-pressure” has created gloomy weather this weekend, said John Dumas, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

“It can turn into drizzle,” said Dumas, adding that there were reports of light rain at LAX on Saturday morning.

The system will be directly over L.A., Ventura and Santa Barbara counties by Sunday and the weather will stay partly cloudy through the weekend, he said.

There’s also a chance of thunderstorms in the mountain areas in L.A. and Ventura counties. Weather officials warned that the roads could flood, and encouraged people to check the forecast before leaving their homes Saturday evening.

Temperatures this weekend will be lower than what’s typical for this time of year. The high temperature in L.A. is expected to be 71 degrees on Sunday, compared with the average of 77, Dumas said.

But starting Monday, the region will start warming up, possibly through the next week, he said.

The weather service doesn’t forecast more than seven days out, Dumas said. But he said that early predictions show the temperature could gradually rise throughout the coming week, possibly making next weekend the hottest in several years, with temperatures crossing 100 degrees in the valleys.

“It would be a very significant heat wave,” he said.

soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com

Follow @skarlamangla on Twitter for more health news.

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