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Dark and stormy weather coming to SoCal, just in time for Halloween

Pennywise creeps from a garage on E. Ocean View Blvd., nearly a week before Halloween on the Balboa Peninsula.
Pennywise creeps from a garage on the Long Beach peninsula. A storm system headed for the Southland likely will peak on Halloween and into Sunday morning.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
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  • Los Angeles is facing a rainy Halloween weekend.
  • Forecasters expect a quarter to half an inch of rain across most areas, though totals could reach 1 to 2 inches.

Trick-or-treaters may want to add an umbrella to their costume, because there’s a chance it could be dark and stormy on Halloween, the National Weather Service said.

Storms will start to arrive on Friday, with stray showers in isolated areas and maximum temperatures 5 to 10 degrees below normal, according to the forecast from the National Weather Service.

The storm system likely will peak Saturday evening into Sunday morning, with a 70% chance of rain, the forecast states. Although forecasters still aren’t sure how much rain will fall, it’s most likely to total half an inch to an inch, said Ryan Kittell, a meterologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

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Still, there’s a roughly 20% chance the area will get double that and a 20% chance it will get half that, he said. Rainfall amounts are expected to be relatively uniform throughout Los Angeles County, with mountain and foothill communities like La Cañada and Azusa getting totals toward the upper end of the range, he said.

Maximum temperatures will be in the 60s on the coasts and in the valleys, the forecast states.

The forecast notes that some models are calling for rain to arrive later, so there’s still a chance Saturday evening could be dry.

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The latest projections have the rain peaking between 9 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday, “which is good news for Halloween activities, at least the later ones,” Kittell said.

“I think people should still plan for rain for Halloween activities, but right now it looks more on the lighter side than moderate side,” earlier in the evening, he said.

Impacts of the storm are expected to be minimal, with the potential for increased traffic and minor roadway flooding, Kittell said. “Probably the biggest impact would be on Halloween activities,” he said.

The last recorded rainfall on Halloween in L.A. occurred in 2014, when a quarter of an inch of precipitation fell on downtown Los Angeles, according to weather service records.

Times staff writer Grace Toohey contributed to this report

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