Blast snow, rains, air rescues
A historic weather front that battered a large swath of Southern California with jaw-dropping snow, record rains and flooding that prompted air rescues loosened its grip on Sunday — but more bad weather was on the way.
A new storm is expected to bring rain and snow as early as Sunday evening, the National Weather Service said. Snow won’t sweep the edge of coastal towns like it has in recent days, but this week’s forecast for Los Angeles calls for high temperatures in the 50s – about 15 degrees below normal.
About 75,000 homes and businesses were left without power on Sunday after days of high winds, rain and snow that toppled trees and downed power lines.
“A remarkable storm in recent days with historic amounts of precipitation and snowfall up to elevations that rarely see snow,” wrote forecasters from the Los Angeles Weather Service.
Meteorologist Mark Moede said the winter storm will “roll out of Southern California this morning and there will be a brief break in weather,” but mountain rain and snow are expected to return Monday through Wednesday.
Developments:
• More than 7 inches of rain fell in Ventura County, causing flash flooding that left cars stranded on roads Saturday.
• Los Angeles Fire Department ground and air responders rescued four people and five animals from flooding in Encino, about 25 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
• At the height of the storm, up to 10 inches of rain fell at low elevations and some mountainous areas were blanketed in more than 5 feet of snow.
A BLIZZARD IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:What to know about the weird weekend weather.
Snow stuns residents in some California towns
A mix of warm atmospheric river air and cold Alaskan air conspired to bring a blanket of snow to the high desert regions of Southern California’s valleys on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Rare snowfall fell Saturday in Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana in San Bernardino County. With snow rolling down from the mountains up to 1,000 feet, the hills around Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, were white. The snow also surprised residents of the inner suburbs.
In the mountains, the University of California, Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab said the four-day total near Donner Peak in the Sierra Nevada reached more than 56 inches.
“Snow will resume tomorrow with several major storms expected to drop another 5 to 10 feet on Wednesdays!” the lab tweeted.
Los Angeles sees more than 2 inches of rain in one day
Downtown Los Angeles saw 2.29 inches of rain on Friday, making it the wettest February day in 20 years. AccuWeather reported. The single-day rainfall was greater than the total rainfall for the past three months of February, which combined for just 0.10 inches of rain.
Southern California has seen unprecedented storm days – San Diego issued its first-ever blizzard warning on Friday and Los Angeles issued its first such warning in 34 years. In northern California, the San Francisco Bay Area experienced a light blanket of snow and Yosemite National Park was closed until March 1 due to winter conditions.
Contributor: The Associated Press
USA Today
