Posted December 14, 2010, 11:29 PM.

The first of three systems is due by Wednesday night, and will be followed by larger storms over the weekend and early next week. The train of storms are expected to stick around into next week.

The main impact of Wednesday's system will be clouds and light rain, with rainfall amounting to a tenth of an inch or less.

The second storm is predicted to stick around for a while, and should ultimately be much wetter, thanks to a subtropical tap.

For the weekend, just a period of light rain is expected. "Rainfall amounts will generally be light with 0.10 to 0.50 inches for most areas," said Alexander Tardy of the National Weather Service. "(Look for) one to two inches of precipitation for the San Bernardino mountains and several inches of snow above 7500 feet."

A stronger string of rainfall is projected for Tuesday through Thursday when a third storm arrives.

"When the main weather system taps deeper subtropical moisture and shifts into the West Coast we expect a more significant impact from late Tuesday through Thursday", said Tardy. "This could bring a couple periods of heavy rain and significant mountain snow. Wind will also increase during mid next week, especially over the higher terrain and snow levels will decrease."

Estimates for rainfall are still forthcoming.