… and we’re not talking about the “oh, it gets dark a little bit colder and Starbucks has new coffees” winter — we’re talking about a full fledged ice and snow, gusty wind affair.

The LA Times reports on a National Weather Service prediction of a massive arctic air mass moving into the LA area this weekend — and it’s accompanied by a healthy amount of precipitation, too — the coldest and rainiest portion of which will linger around from Sunday through Wednesday.

Snow is predicted for the Angeles National Forest areas above 3.000 feet — but that elevation may drop to 2,000 on Tuesday — which is pretty damn low for a snowline. The actual amount of snow we’ll get around L.A. will probably be pretty light, but it always makes for a beautiful sight.

Be sure to check weather conditions if you’re heading into the mountains during the storm period. Ice often sticks around on the shadier north sides of mountains long after the rest of the snow has vanished, so it might be time to start dusting off those crampons,

Image by jcookfisher.

Tags: Angeles National Forest, ice, snow, winter storms