A slow-moving winter storm that hit the West Coast has caused uncommon blizzard warnings in Southern California and flooded highways in Los Angeles.
The San Diego National Weather Service issued its first-ever blizzard warning, predicting 3 to 5 feet of snow in the San Bernardino County mountains through Saturday morning.
Through Saturday afternoon, blizzard warnings were also issued for Ventura and Los Angeles counties. It may snow up to 5 feet, with some remote places perhaps receiving 7 to 8 feet. On February 4, 1989, the Los Angeles branch of the National Weather Service issued its final blizzard warning.
In Los Angeles, there was a lot of rain on Friday afternoon, and the flooding caused the closure of many roads. The second-highest flood warning from the NWS, behind only a flood emergency, was a flash flood warning for the city.
Lower elevations of the greater Los Angeles area might receive up to 5 inches of rain, while the mountains could receive 6 inches. In the San Diego region, lower elevations might see up to 3 inches of rain, while the mountains could see 7 inches.
The flood warning affects more than 6 million people, including residents in downtown Los Angeles, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Burbank, and Santa Barbara.
Children revel in the rare snowfall in Yucaipa with a view of the San Bernardino County mountains in California.
"Snow levels will be very low due to this storm system's unusually low temperatures. In fact, regions extremely close to the Pacific Coast and into interior valleys, which are not used to seeing snow, may get some accumulating precipitation, the National Weather Service warned early on Friday.
“Any non-essential or non-emergency travel should be delayed because the worst effects of flooding and blizzard conditions happen on Friday afternoon through Saturday morning! the weather service in San Diego reported.
Possible wind gusts of 75 mph
Around two months after the state experienced fatal flooding, the storm has placed more than 20 million people under flood watches and more than 30 million under strong wind advisories throughout Southern California. In the warning zones, the fastest gusts might reach 75 mph.
Cars stuck in flooding on Vineland Ave in North Hollywood, California on Friday, February 24, 2023.
Before circumstances start to get better by Friday evening as the storm slides to the south, up to 6 inches of snow is likely across lower altitudes and up to 3 feet might fall on the highest peaks in the region. A blizzard warning for northwest Nye County in Nevada will be in place from Friday morning through early Saturday. The Sierra Nevada Mountains could receive up to 6 feet of snow on Friday and Saturday.
The weather service warned that "heavy snow, winds gusting as high as 60 mph, may produce zero visibility due to blowing and drifting snow."
According to local Ngugi Kihara, Santa Cruz Mountain has already received snow.
A car stuck in the snow in the San Gabriel Mountains along Angeles Crest Highway during a storm in La Canada, California, on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023.
Kihara remarked, "We've never seen this much snow up here. "It awakened us up. It started yesterday, but yesterday night it really ramped up. All the nearby roads are closed, and numerous trees are falling. Since Tuesday, there has been a significant loss of power.
According to poweroutage.us, there were almost 99,000 consumers without electricity in California as of late Friday, mainly in the northern region.
Midwest continues to experience power disruptions
A fierce, multi-day winter storm that had caused havoc in multiple states across the West, northern Great Plains, the Great Lakes region, and New England was beginning to weaken as it hit the West.
According to poweroutage.us, more than 640,000 utility customers in Michigan are without power, and DTE, one of the state's top electric suppliers, claimed it won't get most of its customers back online before Sunday.
According to DTE CEO Jerry Norcia, as of Friday afternoon, 20% of his company's customers were without electricity. Poweroutage.us estimates that there are around 480,000 subscribers in this area.
By the end of the day on Friday, the company expects to restore power to 200,000 customers. By Sunday the utility hopes to bring nearly all customers back to service, Norcia said.
Wayne County is currently the hardest hit area with over 227,000 customers offline due to this week’s winter storm. Nearby Oakland County has another 112,000 without power.
The forecast low temperature in the Detroit area Friday night is 23 degrees, according to the NWS.
Forceful storm sparks rescue efforts
The state highway patrol said on Twitter that many counties in Wyoming entered a search-and-rescue mode after more than 40 inches of snow fell in the southern regions of the state over the course of several days and trapped drivers.
In three days this week, Minneapolis, Minnesota, received more than 13 inches of precipitation. According to a series of tweets from a Minnesota State Patrol representative, more than 160 car accidents were recorded across the state on Wednesday, and dozens of vehicles ran off the road.
Minneapolis officials have declared a one-day snow emergency beginning Friday, and city crews have been ploughing and treating streets.
Since the storm began Monday evening, cumulative snowfall reached dozens of inches in some cities, including 48 inches in Battle Lake, Wyoming, 32 inches in Dupuyer, Montana, and 29 inches in Park City, Utah.
But the snow was not the storm’s only culprit. Severe icing was also a danger.
Fransville, Wisconsin measured 0.75 inches of ice, while Ann Arbor, Michigan measured 0.65 inches.
The Massachusetts State Police tweeted that an enormous 15-vehicle pileup on the Massachusetts Turnpike on Thursday night in New England was probably caused in part by icy weather.
According to officials, a number of individual vehicles and tractor-trailers were involved in the chain-reaction incident. According to the tweet, EMS, firefighters, and troopers responded to the incident, and several people needed to be taken to the hospital.
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Southern US sees record heat
As northern regions of the country were measuring snowfall and ice accumulation, parts of the Southeast were experiencing record-high heat.
More than 50 daily record highs were recorded in the Southeast Thursday.
St. Simons Island, Georgia, saw a high temperature of 88 degrees, an all-time February record.
Tupelo, Mississippi, reached a high temperature of 87 degrees, another all-time February record. The previous record of 84 degrees was set Wednesday.
Raleigh, North Carolina, saw a high temperature of 85 degrees, an all-time February record. The previous record of 84 degrees was set in 1977.
The Northern Rockies and the South experienced a startling 100-degree temperature difference earlier this week as a result of the conflicting winter storm and southern heat wave.