A winter storm moving into Southern California Saturday was expected to bring cooler weather, rain, snow and gusty winds to the area through Monday.

The heaviest precipitation was forecast to hit Saturday afternoon through the following afternoon, according to the National Weather Service, noting it could bring an inch or more of rain to eastern mountains in the region.

A winter storm watch was in effect for the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties starting Saturday afternoon. It was scheduled to expire early Monday.

Snow levels were expected to drop to between 4,500 and 5,000 feet in mountain areas before falling to 3,500 to 4,000 feet on Sunday, the weather service reported. The Grapevine and Highway 14 could see a light dusting of snow as a result, forecasters said.

Up to 8 inches of snow was expected to fall above elevations of 4,000 feet, while more than a foot was expected in mountain areas above 6,500 feet.

As a result of the winter weather, motorists were being warned of potentially icy and snow-packed mountain roads and highways. Possible hail accumulation was another factor that could make roadways slick.

On Friday, Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol said vehicles without chains would be turned away from mountain roads.

Caltrans also issued a list of driving safety tips for those traveling through the higher elevations.

In addition to snow, forecasters stated the storm also had the potential to bring brief periods of heavy rainfall, small hail, lightning and thunderstorms to L.A. County late Saturday into Sunday.

The weather service was also warning that heavy rainfall could trigger possible minor mud and debris flow to recent burn areas.

In anticipation of the coming ran, Glendora city officials raised the city’s alert level to “yellow” in the Colby Fire burn area.

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