SoCal Halloween forecast: Cities could see first wet Oct. 31 in decades

Southern California’s Halloween festivities could turn into a soggy mess as a powerful storm threatens to drench trick-or-treaters, unleash thunderstorms and deliver the region’s first rainy Oct.31 in years.The spooky weather system is expected to sweep across the Southland Saturday evening, bringing widespread rainfall just as costumed children hit the streets in search of candy. Los Angeles could experience its first wet Halloween since 2014, putting a damper on a holiday that has largely escaped rain for more than a decade. And Mother Nature isn’t waiting until Halloween night to make her presence known.Scattered showers began creeping into parts of Southern California Friday morning, offering an ominous preview of the heavier downpours expected to arrive over the weekend.The National Weather Service warned that the storm’s most significant rainfall will likely coincide with peak trick-or-treating hours Saturday night before intensifying overnight into Sunday.Forecasters expect widespread rainfall totals between half an inch and 1.5 inches, with some mountain and foothill communities potentially getting soaked with as much as 2.5 inches.“This has been a challenging system to get a hold of and even more challenging to describe,” the National Weather Service said in its forecast discussion.The agency warned that rainfall predictions remain uncertain, with a 20% chance that some areas could receive either double or half the currently projected amounts.The storm is being fueled by a collision between chilly northern air and a surge of moisture moving into the region from the southwest.“This upper-level low is going to pick up all the moisture related to this system down to our southwest, and all that moisture is clashing with the colder air to the north,” FOX 11 meteorologist Maria Quiban explained.That atmospheric clash could also produce a frightening addition to Halloween night — thunder and lightning.Forecasters estimate a 10% to 20% chance o...