Here’s how much rain Southern California could see this weekend

Rain has been in the forecast for Southern California all week long, but forecasters have spent the past few days trying to figure out just how much will fall and when.

A low-pressure system will tap into an atmospheric river in the Pacific, pushing several inches of rain and snow into Northern California and Oregon but the effects further south have been a bit a little harder to predict.

“That is the dilemma because we are not taking a direct hit from this storm,” KTLA Meteorologist Henry DiCarlo said Thursday.

Southern California is also being protected by a ridge of high pressure to the east but as the storm gets closer forecasters have been able to get a clearer picture of what to expect.

As of Thursday, the National Weather Service is predicting Southern California will be hit in a series of waves beginning overnight Friday into Saturday morning.

Rain totals from this first blast should remain under a quarter of an inch across most of resgion with some areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties possibly receiving more.

The peak timing from this first wave of rain will be between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday, according to the Weather Service.

Sunday will likely be a mostly dry day and cloudy day with forecasters calling showers to arrive later in the evening and continue into Monday afternoon.

"Rainfall amounts for this system now look similar to the Friday night Saturday system: generally a quarter to an inch with locally higher amounts across the upslope areas," the Weather Service stated in its forecast.

Snow levels are expected to remain quite high at over 8,000 feet.

The third wave arrives Tuesday but forecasters are still uncertain as to how much rain it will bring.

Drier conditions are expected to return to the region by Wednesday, Henry said.