Southern California hit with one-two punch of rain, snow
Sunlight breaks through a band of heavy clouds to illuminate the Strand at Manhattan Beach, Calif., Sunday, March 1, 2015. A winter storm brought heavy rain, lightning and small hail to parts of Southern California Sunday, raising the possibility of local flooding. The National Weather Service said the threat of showers will linger until Monday morning when the cold low-pressure system moves out. ÒSome areas will get a decent amount of rain. Other areas will get nothing,Ó said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the weather serviceÕs Oxnard office. By Sunday afternoon heavy rain drenched Santa Monica, Venice, Brentwood and other communities on the west side of Los Angeles County. Venice also saw hail. (AP Photo/John Antczak)
LOS ANGELES >> A late-season blast of winter dropped rain and mountain snow Monday on drought-stricken Southern California on the heels of a storm that brought downpours, thunder and hail over the weekend.
The storm showered inland areas as it moved east, the National Weather Service said. Scattered flood warnings and winter weather advisories were in place through the afternoon as another cold low-pressure system moved in from offshore.
Three to 6 inches of snow was expected above 5,000 feet, and drivers were warned of poor visibility and treacherous traveling conditions at elevation. Some schools were closed in San Bernardino County mountain communities because of heavy snow.
Clearing skies were predicted for Tuesday, and temperatures were expected to hit the 70s and 80s later in the week.
Despite the wet weather, the storms were not expected to put a dent in the state’s drought, which was headed into a fourth year.
"We need several large, heavy rainstorms to even have an effect," said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Oxnard office.
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Heavy rain fell on Los Angeles early Monday, where a freeway south of downtown was briefly closed because of flooding.
The hardest rain the day before came in Ventura County, where at one point it fell at a rate of over 2 inches per hour, the weather service said.
Flash flood warnings for several places, including an area stripped bare by last year’s Springs Fire in Camarillo, expired without reports of serious problems.
Crews in Ventura County were working to clean up a mudslide that shut down a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway. The closure came two days after a nearby 9-mile stretch of the highway reopened after a two-month shutdown. With hard rains hitting it into the night, it was expected to remain closed into Monday.
Heavy rain drenched Santa Monica, Venice, Brentwood and other communities on the west side of Los Angeles County.
Hail fell on Venice, and plane pilots reported seeing funnel clouds over the ocean about 25 miles off Redondo Beach.
Rain and snow covered the rural and mountain areas of San Diego County. Nearly 1 1/2 inches of rain had fallen in an area near Julian, and some 3 inches of snow had fallen on Palomar Mountain by the afternoon.
Along California’s central coast, heavy rain, pea-size hail and lightning struck San Luis Obispo.
To the north, the Sierra Nevada received a welcome dose of snow, with some resorts reporting 12 to 18 inches of powder.
