(Reuters) – A winter storm dropping as much as 1.5 inches of rain in lowland areas and as much as 16 inches of snow in the hills and mountains hit Southern California on Monday and brought high wind gusts, lightning and the threat of mudslides.
The storm, which chilled Los Angeles to a low 46 degrees Fahrenheit – about 5 degrees colder than the same December day in New York City, will not taper off until overnight, said Brian Hurley, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.
The storm arrived early on Monday, bringing winds, some hail and thunderstorms and some flooding, driven by a cold front pushing east off the Pacific Ocean and into Arizona, he said.
“It’s been dry. This is the first real, significant snow and rainfall event of the season in Southern California,” Hurley said. “That brings with it the risk of mudslides in the burn-scar areas left over in the foothills from all the wildfires this year.
“That’s a major risk and rain isn’t expected to taper until after maybe, midnight,” he added.
Local fire stations in Los Angeles County were offering sandbags for residents in the foothills near burn areas, ahead of potential mudslides, social media reported.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department reported the rescue of two motorists trapped by rising waters from the Los Angeles River whose vehicle was stranded. No injuries were reported.
The last heavy rain in Southern California was in April, the weather service said.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Dan Grebler)
