Things are being canceled left and right as the National Weather Service  says a strong storm system is on its way, possibly bringing heavy rain and mountain snows Friday into Saturday.  The "current thinking," as NWS calls it, is that rain will reach the Los Angeles basin  sometime Friday afternoon or evening, with the possibility of thunderstorms.  Potentially, they say, 2 to 4.5 ins. of rain is possible in the foothills and mountains.