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The first day of winter arrived in Southern California on Tuesday with a chill and the promise of wind, rain and snow, just in time for the holidays.

A series of storms spinning off the coast of Northern California is gathering strength and will soon begin moving toward the lower part of the state, the National Weather Service said.

The system is expected to drop heaps of snow across the Sierra Nevada, where winter storm warnings are already in effect, as are concerns about snarled holiday travel and hazardous delays.

Tuesday — the winter solstice — is also the shortest day of the year, with only about 10 hours of daylight in Southern California. Days will begin getting longer on Wednesday.

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