Massive storm to lash Southern California with three days of rain and snow
By KAHELE BRINKLEY and NICK CANNON
The new storm forecast calls for up to 3 feet of snow to fall in parts of Southern California. A winter-like storm, dubbed El Nino, could dump up to 15 inches of snow in Los Angeles County, according to a forecast issued on Monday by the National Weather Service.
“We’ve had a long period of warm weather here in Southern California, and it’s going to start to get a little bit colder,” said Jeff Cavanaugh, a senior research meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
On Sunday, heavy rain caused flash floods in Southern California as water from rivers fed by rivers overflowed and turned to mud flows. The flooding caused at least six deaths.
El Nino, a weather pattern that’s characterized by above-average ocean temperatures and strong currents, generally occurs only three times a century. But it’s been a rare occurrence in recent decades, causing severe flooding over the past year in some parts of the world.
The new storm would bring a foot or more of snow to parts of the region late Monday. Los Angeles could get up to 3 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada, while parts of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties could get more than 1 foot of snow, said Cavanaugh, a specialist in storm forecasting.
Temperatures should stay warm Friday, with daytime highs of between 50 and 70 degrees in Los Angeles County. Parts of Northern and Central California will struggle to reach 70 degrees, he said.
Cavanaugh said the new storm was expected to dump up to 15 inches of snow in parts of Southern California, possibly producing significant avalanche danger. Snow totals could be higher in mountains, and could reach 30 inches in the mountains, he said.
The Associated Press reports that parts of southern California have already gotten 1 inch of snow from Friday to Saturday, in the wake of a winter storm. The storm dumped snow on the mountains and turned up some rivers, and there could be more
