Storm brings more rain and snow to California
A rockfall shuts down a Yosemite entrance as conditions lead to weather advisories.
A storm that broke rainfall records over the weekend continued to move across California on Monday, bringing additional rain to the Southland and snow to mountains across the state, which led to weather advisories and dangerous conditions on roads.
After the first wave of the storm over the weekend, showers and thunderstorms tapered off early Monday afternoon. Rainfall up to a quarter of an inch had been expected through Monday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service bureau in Oxnard. The foothills and valley mountain areas were expected to see up to three-quarters of an inch.
Amid the storm, a rockfall shut down one of the entrances to Yosemite National Park.
Big Oak Flat Road, a continuation of Highway 120 from Manteca in San Joaquin County, was closed between Foresta Junction and Yosemite Valley, park officials said. The road may be closed for several days, and there is no access to the valley on Highway 120 from the west. Highways 140 and 41 to Yosemite are open, officials said.
Drivers looking to enter Yosemite should call (209) 372-0200 for updates on road conditions.
Hollywood Burbank Airport saw 1.21 inches of rain on Sunday, breaking its previous record of 1.09 inches, set in 1996, according to the weather service.
Lancaster received 0.46 inches, breaking its previous record of 0.16 inches, set in 1993. Anaheim, with 1.33 inches, broke its 1994 record of 0.94 inches.
The cold air is bringing snow to the mountains, including at lower elevations. Weather experts predicted 1 to 4 inches of snow as low as 3,000 feet and 4 to 8 inches above 5,000 feet.
Up to 2 inches of snow was predicted for the Grapevine and Antelope Valley foothills. Powder was starting to stick on the Tejon Pass and Grapevine area along Interstate 5 early Monday, the weather service said.
The weather service issued a winter storm warning until 10 p.m. Monday for the San Bernardino County and Riverside County mountains above 5,000 feet. A winter weather advisory was in effect earlier Monday in the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills, where 1 to 6 inches of snow were expected above 4,000 feet, with snowfall possible as low as 2,500 feet.
Snow in the Santa Ana Mountains is not a typical feature of “every storm,” said Casey Oswant, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego, who added that “some webcams at Santiago Peak [show] snow on the ground.”
Mt. Wilson had recorded 2 inches of snow as of Monday morning, weather experts said. Snow Valley had 10 to 12 inches, Mountain High and Sugarloaf each had 5 inches, and Descanso had 1 inch, according to the National Weather Service in San Diego.
The weather service has issued a frost advisory from 2 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday because of freezing temperatures expected in the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys, the inland Central Coast in Santa Barbara County, Lake Casitas, the central and southeastern Ventura County valleys, and the Santa Ynez and Ojai valleys.
Video from OnScene.TV early Sunday morning showed fresh powder accumulating along Highway 18 from Running Springs to Big Bear, where a tour bus’ tire chains broke off. Several other drivers, some with chains improperly installed or no chains at all, became stuck in the snow.
The Orange County Fire Authority responded to calls for a rescue Sunday morning in the Santa Ana River at Orangewood, where a man was found in the riverbed at Memory Lane, the agency said on Twitter. The man was pulled to safety and taken to a hospital.
Anaheim Fire and Rescue said it responded to a call at 12:30 p.m. Sunday of a body in the river channel in the 700 block of Loara Avenue. A man in his 30s was declared dead at the scene, said Sgt. Shane Carringer, a spokesperson for the department.