Winter Storm Brings Snow, Rain To Southland Wednesday, Treacherous Road Conditions
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A winter storm rolled its way into the Southland early Wednesday morning and is expected to remain into Thursday night. Some mountain areas could get more than a foot of snow, while on-and-off rain is expected in low-lying areas throughout the rest of the region.
Several pockets of the Southland saw heavy rainfall and lightning strikes Wednesday morning, including Glendale and Burbank. Hail was reported in Studio City.
A neighborhood in hilly Silverado Canyon east of Irvine was hit with a mudslide which forced officials to evacuate about 700 residents. No one was seriously hurt.
Wet roads and freeways were slippery and treacherous. A woman had to be cut from her car in San Fernando by L.A. Fire Department crews after her vehicle went down an embankment near Highway 118 and San Fernando Road a little before 7 a.m. She was taken to the hospital with undisclosed injuries.
A car also overturned on the westbound 134 Freeway in Glendale, shutting down several lanes.
Sky2 showed vehicles cautiously traversing their way through large puddles of water on the 10 Freeway in Central Los Angeles.
Lightning strikes also closed Seal Beach and its pier for about an hour Wednesday morning. While a large tree outside a home in La Verne split was split in half by a lightning strike.
The National Weather Service said minor flooding is likely throughout Southern L.A. County, with some minor mud and debris flows possible across the southern portion of the Bobcat and Ranch2 burn areas in the San Gabriel foothills.
Some locations that could experience flooding included Long Beach, Downtown L.A., Pasadena, Inglewood, Griffith Park, Culver City, North Hollywood, Manhattan Beach and Monrovia, the NWS said.
Forecasters said there will be off-and-on-again showers into Thursday night.
Crews, meanwhile, were out with plows clearing snowy roads in the mountains. The winter conditions could make driving hazardous in the mountain passes. Chains are required for those going up to Big Bear.
A winter storm warning is in effect until 10 p.m. Thursday for the L.A. County mountains, excluding the Santa Monica range, with the NWS anticipating snow accumulations of 6 to 12 inches above 4,500 feet, down to a dusting for elevations around 3,000 feet. The snowy conditions will be joined by southwest winds of 20 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph.
Wind will also be an issue in much of the region, with gusty conditions developing Tuesday afternoon.
Dry weather is expected to return by Friday and continue through the weekend.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
