More Rain, Snow To Bombard California After Historic Wintery Week

CALIFORNIA — Heavy rain across California will follow the historic snow seen in recent days, according to authorities.

Last week’s turbulent winter weather resulted in flash flooding, hypothermia, air travel being halted for much of Southern California, more than 100,000 power outages, and snow at elevations below 1,000 feet, according to AccuWeather. Downtown Los Angeles also saw its wettest February day in 20 years, AccuWeather reported.

This week will bring more rain to water-weary Californians.

Rain, mountain snow, and gusty wind were in the forecast for the Los Angeles area through Wednesday, according to the weather service, which predicted accumulation of as much as 1-2 inches in coastal and valley areas, with rainfall averaging about 0.25 inches per hour.

“With the low snow levels, a Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for the Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara County mountains through Tuesday afternoon,” according to the weather service. “A Winter Storm Watch remains in effect for Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening.”

Another section of the state that may be unusually snowy this week is the Sierra Nevada, which could see another 4-7 feet of snowfall, according to the weather service. Blizzard conditions are expected to make travel dangerous.

Over the weekend, California got a brief break from severe weather Sunday after a powerful storm a day earlier swelled Los Angeles-area rivers to dangerous levels, flooded roads and dumped snow at elevations as low as about 1,000 feet. The sun came out briefly Sunday in greater LA, where residents emerged to marvel at mountains to the north and east blanketed in white.

Suburban Santa Clarita, in hills north of Los Angeles, received its first significant snowfall since 1989.

“We went outside and we let our sons play in the snow,” resident Cesar Torres told the Santa Clarita Signal. “We figured, while the snow’s there, might as well make a snowman out of it.”

The weather service said Mountain High, one of the closest ski resorts to Los Angeles, received an eye-popping 7.75 feet of snow during the last storm, with more possible this week.

Rain and snow were falling again Sunday in Northern California as the first of two new storms began moving in.

Days of downpours dumped almost 11 inches of rain in the Woodland Hills area of LA’s San Fernando Valley, while nearly 7 inches were reported in Beverly Hills.

In Valencia, north of LA, county officials said the heavy rains eroded an embankment at an RV park and swept multiple motorhomes into the Santa Clara River, with emergency video showing one of the vehicles toppled on its side. No one was reported injured.

Rare blizzard warnings for Southern California mountains and widespread flood watches ended late Saturday. But Interstate 5, the West Coast’s major north-south highway, was closed off and on due to heavy snow and ice in the Tejon Pass through the mountains north of Los Angeles. Emergency crews, meanwhile, worked to clear mountain roads east of LA of snow and ice.

Source: Los Angeles Patch

The Associated Press contributed to this story.