A rare blizzard warning remains in effect Saturday for parts of Southern California, including the Los Angeles area, as heavy snowfall and record rainfall brought flooding.
The arrival of severe weather on the West Coast has brought unheard-of winter conditions to the higher lands, particularly in the mountainous areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, where a foot of snow has been combined with winds of nearly 80 miles per hour, the Weather Service said. from the USA.
The blizzard warnings are expected to continue through Saturday afternoon. The Los Angeles office of the National Weather Service has not issued a blizzard warning since 1989. At the same time, torrential downpours are expected to continue to hit the greater Los Angeles area.
“A cold, strong and potentially dangerous winter storm will bring heavy rain and snow in the mountains, with southerly wind gusts to most of southwestern California through Saturday,” the weather bureau said.
The alert comes as severe weather this week across the state has caused numerous power outages, affecting multiple people and remaining in more than 100,000 homes and businesses across multiple counties.
Until this Friday (24), snow had already covered the mountains of Santa Cruz, a sight that surprised resident Ngugi Kihara.
“We’ve never seen so much snow here,” Kihara told CNN . “We woke up. It started yesterday but has increased a lot overnight. Many trees are falling and all the roads around us are closed. Most of the power has been cut since Tuesday.”
Heavy snowfall and high winds can result in near-zero visibility for those in the area, even when it stops snowing, because strong winds can lift the flakes off the ground. Weather alerts advise extreme caution.
The highest ground at Big Bear Lake in southern California saw 50 to 100 centimeters of snow fall over the course of three days, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The agency also reported that many vehicles were stuck, causing road closures.
In addition to the snow, some roads in the Los Angeles area turned into rivers after the heavy rains, prompting the weather service to issue a flash flood warning.
Drivers and their vehicles were trapped after rising water levels and some roads were impassable. By late evening, a flash flood warning was in effect for about a million people in Los Angeles, Glendale and Santa Clarita as of Saturday morning.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
