Uncommon blizzard warnings issued in Southern California as Midwest digs out from highly effective winter storm | CNN

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A slow-moving winter storm introduced snow, rain and excessive winds to the West on Friday, prompting uncommon blizzard warnings in Southern California.

In its first-ever blizzard warning, the Nationwide Climate Service in San Diego stated the San Bernardino County mountains might see 3 to five ft of snow by way of Saturday morning.

Blizzard warnings have been additionally issued for Los Angeles and Ventura counties by way of Saturday afternoon. As much as 5 ft of snow is feasible with some remoted areas seeing between 7 and eight ft. The Nationwide Climate Service’s Los Angeles workplace issued its final blizzard warning on February 4, 1989.

“This storm system shall be unusually chilly, and snow ranges shall be very low. In actual fact, areas very near the Pacific Coast and likewise into the inside valleys that aren’t accustomed to seeing snow, might even see some accumulating snowfall,” the Nationwide Climate Service stated early Friday.

“For Friday morning by way of Saturday afternoon, plan to hunker down and keep away from journey. The worst impacts from flooding and blizzard circumstances happen Friday afternoon by way of Saturday morning, when any non-essential or non-emergency journey needs to be postponed!” the San Diego climate service stated.

The Nationwide Climate Service on Friday afternoon issued a flash flood warning with a “appreciable flash flood injury risk,” for Los Angeles and surrounding areas. That is the second highest degree of flood warning from the NWS, solely topped by a flood emergency.

Over 6 million individuals are lined by the warning, together with downtown Los Angeles, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Burbank and Santa Barbara.

“Flash flooding is already occurring…and is predicted to worsen into the night hours,” the NWS warning stated.

The climate service additionally warned that particles flows are possible from earlier burn scars within the area.

As much as 5 inches of rain might fall throughout decrease elevations of the higher Los Angeles space whereas the mountains might see 6 inches. Within the San Diego space, as much as 3 inches of rain is feasible in decrease elevations whereas the mountains might get 7 inches.

The storm has put greater than 20 million folks below flood watches and greater than 30 million folks below excessive wind alerts throughout Southern California – roughly two months after the state endured rounds of lethal flooding. The very best gusts within the warning areas might attain 75 mph.

The storm system will influence Northern California early within the day Friday. As much as 6 inches of snow is feasible throughout decrease elevations and as much as 3 ft might fall on the area’s highest peaks earlier than circumstances start to enhance by Friday night because the storm slips to the south.

The Sierra Nevada Mountains might see as much as 6 ft of snow Friday into Saturday and in Nevada, a blizzard warning for northwestern Nye County shall be in impact Friday morning by way of early Saturday.

“Heavy snow, winds gusting as excessive as 60 mph, will trigger zero visibility resulting from blowing and drifting snow,” the climate service warned.

Snow has already hit the Santa Cruz Mountain, resident Ngugi Kihara advised CNN on Friday.

“We by no means seen this a lot snow up right here,” Kihara stated. “We woke as much as it. It began yesterday however picked up loads in a single day. Plenty of bushes are falling and all of the roads round us are closed. Energy is out and has been largely gone since Tuesday.”

Energy outages have been already including up in California early Friday, with practically 75,000 clients at nighttime, largely within the northern area. That accounts for a small portion of the greater than 820,000 energy outages recorded nationwide because the day started, in keeping with PowerOutage.us. Nearly all of the outages – practically 720,000 – have been in Michigan, the place freezing rain and ice this week broken utility traces and bushes.

The storm struck the West as a ferocious, multiday winter storm started to subside after wreaking havoc in a number of states throughout the West, northern Nice Plains the Nice Lakes area and New England.

A number of counties in Wyoming went into search-and-rescue mode after greater than 40 inches of snow fell within the southern components of the state over the course of a number of days and motorists have been trapped in heavy snow, the state freeway patrol stated on Twitter.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, noticed greater than 13 inches in a three-day interval this week. Greater than 160 automobile crashes have been reported statewide, and dozens of automobiles spun off roads Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Minnesota State Patrol stated in a sequence of tweets.

Minneapolis officers have declared a one-day snow emergency starting Friday, and metropolis crews have been plowing and treating streets.

For the reason that storm started Monday night, cumulative snowfall reached dozens of inches in some cities, together with 48 inches in Battle Lake, Wyoming, 32 inches in Dupuyer, Montana, and 29 inches in Park Metropolis, Utah.

However snow was not the storm’s solely perpetrator. Extreme icing was additionally a hazard.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, recorded 0.65 inches, whereas Fransville, Wisconsin, measured 0.75 inches of ice.

And in New England, icy circumstances possible contributed to an enormous 15-vehicle pileup on the Massachusetts Turnpike Thursday night time, in keeping with a tweet by the Massachusetts State Police.

The chain-reaction crash concerned a number of private autos and tractor trailers, officers stated. Troopers, firefighters and EMS responded to the incident and a number of victims needed to be transported to the hospital, in keeping with the tweet.

As northern areas of the nation have been measuring snowfall and ice accumulation, components of the Southeast have been experiencing record-high warmth.

Greater than 50 day by day report highs have been recorded within the Southeast Thursday.

The dueling winter storm and southern warmth wave created a stark 100-degree temperature distinction between the Northern Rockies and the South earlier this week.