THE LAST WORD:

We’ve been bracing for a change in the weather, a fickle phenomenon. Seasonal high waves have been pushing down the coast, and nighttime temperatures have already dropped 20 degrees since Thanksgiving.

The National Weather Service predicted a storm system would deliver all of the above just as shoppers accelerate into another weekend of mall crawling.

Whether or not you are among them, please heed a last word of caution on the weather.

County authorities are still investigating a dead body that washed up in the Santa Ana River mouth last weekend. One thing seems certain: Weather had something to do with it.

Don’t swim or surf alone, especially on big days. Avoid the ocean after rain, which brings toxic runoff and respiratory and skin infections.

And never attempt to drive through high water in a flash flood. It takes only 2 feet of moving water to carry off an SUV.

It might be better to stay in, break out the hot cocoa, top it off with whipped cream and crumbled peppermint sticks and get to wrapping those presents.