California weather — Flood and avalanches warning amid ‘life and death’ warning for homeless people
California’s first blizzard warning since 1989
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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.
National Weather Service’s latest update for California
A very cold, slow-moving storm is moving south along the West Coast of California on Friday before slowly pivoting into the Southwest.
California will see the greatest winter storm impacts on Friday with multiple rounds of heavy snowfall coupled with strong winds causing blizzard conditions over some of the higher terrain and mountain passes, according to the National Weather Service’s (NWS) latest report.
This includes the central and southern Sierra Nevada, and the high terrain of Transverse Range in southern California.
Downed trees and power lines which will contribute to power outage concerns, NWS said.
For a state that’s used to 72F and sunny, it will be unusually cold. In some areas very close to the Pacific Coast and also into the interior valleys that are not accustomed to seeing snow, there may be some accumulating snowfall, forecasters noted.
There will be as much as three to five feet for the Sierra Nevada, with more snow possible at the highest peaks.
One other big issue will be the threat of heavy rainfall and flooding for coastal areas of southern California below the snow level. Several inches of rain are expected locally, increasing the risk of runoff.
California governor’s office shares list of warming centers as state braces for bitter cold
The California governor’s office shared a list of warming centers, travel alerts, and tips on how to prepare and stay safe during the severe winter weather.
Tornado and water spout warnings in Los Angeles area
Intense showers and thunderstorms are shifting eastward toward southeast Santa Barbara and southern Ventura Counties, the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office warned on Friday morning.
“Expect potential for very heavy rain, road flooding, small hail, & gusty winds. Ocean waterspouts & land-based tornadoes are possible through noon,” forecasters said.
Severe weather begins to ease in Midwest and Plains
A storm that battered the Plains and Midwest for days began to diminish on Friday, the weather service said, but gusty winds could still cause blowing and drifting snow.
The weather has closed major roads around the US, caused pileups, closed schools and snarled air travel.
Friday morning, nearly 300 flights were canceled and over 900 were delayed, according to FlightAware.com. That was down from more 2,000 canceled and 14,000 delayed flights on Thursday.
All told, the storms have blacked out nearly 1 million homes and businesses from coast to coast. Michigan was hardest hit after a storm coated branches, power lines and utility poles with ice, putting more than 820,000 customers in the dark at one point. By Friday, that was down to under 700,000, most in the state’s populous southeast corner, around Detroit.
Some 3,000 power lines were toppled after being coated with ice as thick as three-quarters of an inch, and crews struggled to get power back by the end of Sunday, utilities said.
Winter storm in pictures
California’s winter storm in pictures
Michigan shivers without power
While this week’s winter storms meant nearly 1 million homes and businesses from coast to coast lost power, Michigan was the hardest hit.
The storm coated branches, power lines and utility poles with ice as thick as three-quarters of an inch, putting more than 820,000 customers in the dark at one point in the state.
By Friday, that was down to under 700,000, most in the state’s populous southeastern corner, around Detroit. Promises of power restoration by Sunday, when low temperatures were expected to climb back above zero (minus 18 Celsius), were of little consolation.
“That’s really vague and that’s really long,” said Apurva Gokhale, of Walled Lake, Michigan. “That’s four days without power in such weather. It’s unthinkable.”
Her home lost power early Thursday. By that evening, the temperature inside had dropped to 55 degrees (12 Celsius). She, her husband and son stayed the night with relatives.
Tom Rankin, 70, said he and his wife were unable to reach his 100-year-old mother-in-law on Friday morning by phone. The couple drove to her home in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, to find her in bed “with a whole lot of blankets,” Rankin said.
She was fine, Rankin said, and the temperature in her home was about 65 degrees after she lost power on Thursday afternoon. But they helped her to their car, planning to ride out the outage at another relative’s home.
In pictures: Winter Storm Olive
Winter Storm Olive: In pictures
Interstate 5 shut down by snow
In this image from a Caltrans remote traffic video camera is an empty Interstate 5 at Dunsmuir, Calif., Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. Interstate 5, the West Coast’s major north-south highway, was shut down south of the Oregon border as snow fell to the floor of the Sacramento Valley and in a high mountain pass north of Los Angeles, where blizzard warnings were in effect.
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