As California faces its earliest winter weather warning since 2007, a spate of cooling weather trends have struck the state, including Santa Clarita.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in the Hanford, California office issued a winter weather advisory on Friday. The advisory will affect areas of Northern California and is expected to last through Monday.

We have a very early Winter Weather Advisory. Yes, #snow is in the forecast above 8,000 feet. The Advisory is in effect from 11 PM Sunday through 5 PM Monday. There is a 45 to 75 percent probability of 3 inches or more of snow above 8,000 ft from #Fresno County to #Yosemite #CAWx pic.twitter.com/K8pGN2nUZ4

— NWS Hanford (@NWSHanford) September 13, 2024

The warning is the earliest winter weather advisory in two decades for the high Sierra, and the broader weather phenomenon has stretched into the Santa Clarita area, with a low-pressure system keeping things cool for the rest of the week.

Over the last several years, California has faced several out-of-the-ordinary weather shifts during the fall and winter months. The 2020-2021 season was incredibly dry, with less than an inch-and-a-half of rain in the wettest month.

In 2021-2022, most of the rain for the year came down in December, with more than 6.2 inches of the approximately 8-inch total coming in December storms.

The last two years have been incredibly moist, with around 20 inches of rain coming down in the Santa Clarita Area in the 2022-2023 and the 2023-2024 seasons. The most recent rain season was especially strange weather-wise, as Tropical Storm Hilary made landfall in September 2023.

Then, 7 inches of rain fell in February, making for a total of 22.21 inches of rain in the 2023-2024 season.

Following the cooling trends, a La Niña winter weather event is expected to come into play later this fall, according to  Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the NWS L.A. in a previous story.

“Right now we are at normal temperatures, but all projections are showing it is going to be below normal by later fall or winter,” Kittell said.

A La Niña or El Niño weather event is determined based on the temperature of the water near the equator in the middle to the eastern portion of the Pacific Ocean. If the water is cooler, it is a La Niña. If the water is warmer, it is considered to be an El Niño.

“Most folks associate El Niño with a lot of rain, and La Niña with dry winter. This is used as a baseline for people in California,” Kittell said.

Whether a true La Nina is coming to California is yet to be seen, but the Santa Clarita weather forecast for the next week bodes for cooler temperatures than the previous heat wave.

Through Friday, Santa Clarita Valley skies are expected to stay mostly cloudy to partially sunny, with temperatures in the mid-70s. A slight chance of rain is also expected later in the week. Hot late summer temperatures are forecast for late in the weekend.

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