SOUTHLAND TO STAY WET FOR A WHILE.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

An arctic storm that hit the Los Angeles area with heavy rain Saturday is expected to bring wet weather through much of next week.

The National Weather Service predicts a 100 percent chance of rain today, with more rain likely until at least Wednesday, said meteorologist Bill Hoffer.

The storm is a combination of phenomena, he reported, and it spans several thousand miles.

``It's a fast-moving cold front formed in the Gulf of Alaska associated with a very dynamic low-pressure area,'' Hoffer said. ``The ridge ahead of it over the central U.S. got eaten up, so the big freeway in the sky was able to move without anything blocking it.''

As a result, the National Weather Service is predicting up to 4 inches of rain in the foothills, and a possible 16 inches of snow in the mountains by tonight.

Such conditions brought a flash flood warning for southern Santa Barbara County, and strong cautions were issued for motorists to avoid high-altitude travel.

``People should not go into the mountains,'' Hoffer said. ``But if they do, they need to bring chains, heavy parkas and plenty of water.''

A tour bus, an 18-wheel truck and at least three other vehicles were involved in a crash Saturday on snowy, foggy Interstate 15 near the top of Cajon Pass, authorities said.

A California Highway Patrol spokesman said there were no fatalities but that an undetermined number of people suffered minor injuries.

Motorists traveling Saturday at lower elevations in the Los Angeles area also encountered difficult conditions.

The California Highway Patrol's L.A. traffic management center logged 292 crashes between midnight and 3 p.m. Saturday, according to Officer Charles Blair.

This is up from 215 in the same period the previous Saturday, also a rainy day.

Though rain might have been a factor, it was not the sole cause of the collisions, Blair said.

``You can infer from the numbers,'' he said. ``But we don't speculate about what caused the crashes.''

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Photo:

Four-year-old Sam Jennings sloshes happily through puddles on Felton Street, followed closely by his sister, Jill, 8, on a wet Saturday afternoon in Newbury Park.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer