Snow in the Orange County Foothills?

The OC Register tells us we may be in for a once-in-five-years cold weather event this weekend:

Rain now seems likely Friday night and Saturday, the latest forecast from the National Weather Service says, with temperatures so cold Saturday they would be expected only once every five years.

Snow levels also could drop to unusually low levels in Orange County — as low as 1,000 feet elevation — perhaps dusting foothill communities, with daytime temperatures in the 40s.

“You’ll definitely see snow on the ground at the highest outskirts of suburbia there,” said Weather Service meteorologist Miguel Miller. “Foothill Ranch, Rancho Santa Margarita, Coto (de Caza) — I’m not saying it’s going to snow there, but it will be right at the back door.”

It’s the work of a system of cold, low-pressure air moving in from the north.

“The air is coming south, straight out of Canada, and is going to get very little warming effect from the ocean,” Miller said. “So it’s going to be almost pure Canadian.” [...]

And as the coldest part of the low-pressure system moves over Southern California, temperatures could drop substantially, with highs of 42 to 47 expected Saturday and snow levels at 1,000 to 1,500 feet.

Lows could hit the mid 30s Saturday night.

My North Dakota friends are probably laughing themselves silly over the idea that we'd consider highs in the 40's to be a "once-in-five-years" weather event, but around here that's pretty cold.  Though now that I think about it, this time of year highs in the 40's could be a "once-in-five-years" weather event in North Dakota.  When I talked to them on the radio yesterday it was -2.