Southern California residents woke up Monday morning to a cold rain still falling and the prospect of some slow-moving rush-hour traffic after the area was drenched overnight.
In what may have been the biggest storm of the fall, many of the hundreds of traffic accidents in Los Angeles County in the past 24-hours were related to the downpour. However, worries about possible mud and debris flows over slopes stripped of vegetation by wildfires were apparently unfounded.
Hundreds of residents were left cold and in the dark as temperatures dipped into the 40s overnight amid a number of power outages related to the rain.
The rain was expected to taper off by mid-morning and skies should be sunny later in the week with some warmer temperatures.
Flash flood warnings expired earlier this morning when no incidents were reported, said NWS meteorologist Curt Kaplan.
The storm’s main front was expected to slide out the region by midmorning, although some precipitation will linger until early afternoon. Kaplan said.
In the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, a winter weather advisory will be in force until 4 p.m. The snow level is expected to fall to 7,000 feet, and there’s a possibility of brief snow showers across Angeles Crest Highway in case of thunderstorms.
An accumulation of between 3 and 8 inches of snow is expected above 7,000 feet and up to a foot on the highest peak, according to the NWS. Also expected in the mountains is northwestern winds of between 15 and 25 mph, gusting to 40 mph, creating hazardous conditions for motorists.
“Be prepared for snow-covered roads and limited visibility, and use caution while driving,” warned an NWS statement, which urged drivers to keep emergency supplies in their vehicles, including flashlights, food and water, extra clothing, blankets and tire chains.
Along the coast, a high surf advisory will be in effect until 6 p.m. in Los Angeles County, where surf of between 10 and 12 feet is forecast, with large waves and powerful rip currents expected. The NWS urged swimmers to stay near lifeguard stations and, if ensnared by a rip current, to swim parallel to the coast until able to break free.
The rain began Sunday afternoon. Kaplan said that by early this morning, the NWS had recorded almost an inch of rain at the Hollywood Reservoir, .88 of an inch in South Gate, .86 at Getty Center in the Sepulveda Pass, three quarters of an inch in downtown L.A., .69 in Woodland Hills, .97 in Van Nuys and 1.07 inch in Pacoima.
Monday’s L.A. County forecast calls for showers and highs of 57 on Mount Wilson; 58 in Lancaster; 59 in Palmdale; 60 in Avalon; 62 in Saugus; 64 in Pasadena; 65 at LAX and in San Gabriel and Burbank; 66 in downtown L.A. and Woodland Hills; and 68 in Long Beach.
Showers and partly cloudy skies were in Orange County’s forecast Monday, along with highs of 63 in Mission Viejo; 65 in Yorba Linda, Irvine, Laguna Beach and San Clemente; 66 in Newport Beach; and 67 in Fullerton and Anaheim.
At least six days of sunshine are in the forecast in L.A. and Orange counties starting Tuesday, when temperatures will be at least a couple of degrees higher than Monday as a warming trend gets underway. Highs will revert to the 70s in Orange County beginning Wednesday and in Los Angeles County the next day.
—City News Service