A cold Pacific storm with fog and wind gusts is expected to hit the Southland Wednesday afternoon, dropping half-an-inch of rain in coastal areas and keeping local temperatures in the low 60s for several days. 

The highest tide of the season—maximized by the current alignment of the earth, sun and the moon—is also expected Thursday morning in Long Beach. This so-called “king tide” should reach 7.3 feet, a level that the City says hasn’t been reached since 2008.

Producing steady rain starting Wednesday afternoon or Wednesday night, the storm will continue with widespread showers Thursday with a slight chance of thunderstorms, some of which could include small hail, according to an National Weather Service advisory.

The City of Long Beach is encouraging residents near the coastline to prepare for possible flooding, and will open its Emergency Operations Center to monitor rain and tide activity. City crews have conducted inspections and maintenance work to ensure that catch basins in known flooding areas have been cleaned and all pump stations are functioning.

People should avoid swimming in the ocean and bays during and within 72 hours of a storm due to runoff that enters the water, and should always avoid swimming in areas where there might be rip currents.

The NWS advisory also states that the storm will also cause snow to fall at the lowest altitudes so far this season—5,000 feet Wednesday afternoon and eventually dropping to between 4,000 and 3,500 feet by Thursday morning, which will likely leave snow on elevated roadways, including Interstate 5 through The Grapevine.

Between three and six inches of snow is expected above 5,000 feet, although between six and eight inches is possible.

Following Thursday’s showers, no precipitation is expected until a new bout of rainfall arrives Sunday.