California weather — Flood and avalanches warning amid ‘life and death’ warning for homeless people
California’s first blizzard warning since 1989
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.California weathered a punishing weekend of heavy snow, torrential rain and bitterly cold temperatures.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the conditions were posed “a matter of life or death for many of our unhoused neighbors,” and asked resident to help those without permanent shelter find emergency lodgings during the storm.
The storms triggered the state’s first blizzard warning since 1989 with record snowfall forecast in some high-elevation areas. Up to 8ft of snow was forecasted to fall in the mountains outside of Los Angeles on the storm’s second day. The National Weather Service warned that travel would be very difficult to impossible.
The storm also brought the threat of ocean water spouts and land-based tornadoes in the Los Angeles area of southeast Santa Barbara and southern Ventura counties.
A coast-to-coast winter storm pummeled much of the western and northern United States, styming travel plans and leaving nearly 1million people without power.
But the country was a landscape of climate extremes: While deep Arctic air caused temperatures to plummet as much as 30 to 40 degrees below average in parts of the West and Plains, the US also experienced its first 100-degree day of 2023. Falcon Lake in Texas hit 100F on Wednesday as temperature records were broken across the Southwest.
Strong winds batter California with more wintry weather on the way
Powerful winds were the biggest and most imminent problem in California, toppling trees and power lines.
More than 109,000 customers were without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us, on Wednesday morning.
A one-year-old child was critically injured when a redwood crashed onto a home in Boulder Creek, a community in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco, KTVU reported.
Chief Mark Bingham of the local fire protection district said crews had to cut up the tree to free the victim.
And more is on the way. A blizzard warning was issued for the mountains of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, effective from 4am on Thursday to 4pm on Saturday, the National Weather Service said.
The Associated Press
Powerful winds down trees and threaten power outages in California
Watch: St Paul, Minnesota braces for back-to-back weather emergencies
How to find out if your flight is cancelled and what your rights are
More than 1,000 flights have been cancelled by severe Winter Storm Olive which brought heavy snowfall and dangerous whiteout conditions to parts of the country.
The storm, which prompted the National Weather Service to issue weather warnings in more than two dozen states, is forecast to have impacts from coast to coast.
The winter storm has already impacted travel, with tracking site FlightAware reporting that more than 1,100 flights were cancelled on Wednesday morning in the US.
How can you find out whether your flight is cancelled and what are your rights?
Winter weather alerts have been issued in more than two dozen states
The UK’s supermarket rationing caused by severe weather could last for weeks, retail experts warn
Food shortages in British supermarkets could “last for weeks,” experts have warned as the UK government is told the “clock is ticking”.
Major supermarket chain Tesco joined Asda, Aldi and Morrison’s as the latest to ration fresh produce as shelves across the country lay empty.
National Farming Union (NFU) president Minette Batters said this week at the NFU conference that the production of tomatoes and cucumbers is expected to drop to “the lowest levels since records began in 1985”.
Unhandled: H6
Unhandled: H6
Supermarket rationing could last for weeks, retail experts warn
Production of tomatoes and cucumbers expected to drop to ‘lowest levels since records began,’ National Farming Union warns
Extreme weather: Cyclone Freddy batters Madagascar, killing four people
Cyclone Freddy is continuing to wreak havoc in Madagascar.
The storm pummelled the Indian Ocean nation on Tuesday with heavy rains and destructive winds, killing four people.
Freddy battered the western city of Mananjary and left 16,660 people displaced and damaged nearly 5,000 homes in the country, according to the latest provisional assessment by Madagascar’s risk and disaster management office. But somewhat weaker winds and better preparation staved off further damage.
The cyclone had waned slightly over land, with the state’s meteorological office measuring average winds of 31 miles per hour and reduced gusts of 43 miles per hour.
Southern California battered by high winds
Flight woes continue on Thursday
Flight woes have continued into Thursday as Winter Storm Olive pummels parts of the US with heavy snowfall, freezing temperatures, and powerful winds.
By around 7am ET on Thursday morning, more than 1,400 flights in and out of the US had been impacted by the extreme weather, according to Flightaware.
In total, 724 flights within, into, or out of the United States have been delayed.
An additional 750 have been cancelled altogether.
WATCH: Extreme driving conditions in Minnesota
Forecasters share their snow scenes
The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities shared a picture of the huge snow drifts outside their office early on Thursday.
“The drifts on our office sidewalk are around 20 to 24 inches. With the average car’s ground clearance being 6 to 9 inches, can you imagine running into one of these going 45+ MPH on the road? Not good.. It doesn’t take much to get stranded! Stay safe out there,” NWS tweeted.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments