California is expected to be battered by another storm Sunday evening after the historic winter brought record cold weather, dumping several feet of snow, causing widespread flooding and leaving tens of thousands of people without power.
Much of the state is still reeling from the effects of a multi-day winter storm, which even saw a dusting of snow on the Hollywood sign and more than a foot in the northern mountains.
Videos posted online also showed RVs being swept into rivers in the Los Angeles area amid widespread flooding and sparks flying from downed power lines.
Major highways remained closed on Sunday morning after drivers were trapped for hours.
Those roads could remain closed for the next few days as another storm starting Sunday night and lasting through Wednesday brings even more rain and snow.
LOS ANGELES: A father and son stop to look at the snow during a rare Saturday snowstorm
ANGWIN: Snow covered a vineyard in California’s famed Napa Valley on Friday
California is expected to be inundated with even more storms in the coming days
The dangerous storms have already dumped nearly five feet of snow on Donner Summit, according to the University of California Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab.
Mount Baldy, near downtown Los Angeles, also measured more than three feet, and Mount Laguna in San Diego County saw more than two feet of snow. Magic Mountain, outside of Los Angeles, also recorded wind gusts of up to 86 mph.
And at Mountain High Resort in Wrightwood, about 75 miles east of Los Angeles, more than six feet of snow fell in less than a week. The resort said it had to close on Saturday to “use available staff to excavate and clean up.” NBC news reports.
The City of Big Bear Lake also warned that all roads into the community, surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest, were closed due to snow, with no estimate of when it might reopen, and Yosemite National Park in Northern California will remain closed at least Wednesday. . .
On Sunday, Interstate 5 — the major highway leading north from Los Angeles — remained closed on the steep slope known as the Grapevine due to heavy snowfall, while more southern points of the highway in and around the city were closed due to floods.
The city recorded 4.3 inches of rain, while Pasadena saw 7.84 inches. A possible tornado was also reported in the Los Angeles County community of Whittier.
Los Angeles County officials were finally forced to close off 24 miles of beach from Nicholas Canyon in Malibu to White Point Beach in San Pedro for nearly two hours Saturday afternoon after lightning was observed on the shoreline.
By Saturday night, more than 120,000 people across the state were without power. But as of Sunday morning, that number had dropped to just over 75,000 residents and businesses, mostly in Madera County, according to PowerOutage.usa website that tracks utility data across the country.
At the same time, a flood warning remained in effect for Southern California until 11 a.m. local time.
CASTAIC: A camper is pictured beginning to fall into the Santa Clara River as the ground below is washed away by floodwaters
LOS ANGELES: A young boy played in the snow on Saturday during the storm
GREEN VALLEY: A woman was forced to wipe slush from the windshield of her car in the Sierra Pelona Mountains on Saturday
GREEN VALLEY: Two Good Samaritans assisted a driver when his truck got stuck in the snow
CASTIAC: The Santa Clara River has been flooded by heavy rainfall near an RV park
LOS ANGELES: New York tourist Evan Shornstein walked along the Los Angeles River during the treacherous storm on Saturday
REONDO BEACH: A surfer gestures as he prepares to face the waves in the perilous storm
Authorities say the extreme weather caused three RVs parked at the Valencia Travel Village RV resort in Castaic, in the north end of Los Angeles County, to plunge into the Santa Clara River.
Video obtained by KCAL News showed one of the campers quickly overturning and backing into the swollen river.
Search and rescue teams from the Ventura County Fire Department arrived on the scene and found the trailer, but luckily no one was in the RV at the time.
A search and rescue team also rescued two homeless men stranded on islands of dry soil in the Hanson Flood Control Basin on Saturday.
The men were unharmed and were released on scene.
And in San Luis Obispo, a large tree fell on an apartment complex, displacing seven people. KSBY reports. Red Cross representatives helped them with housing.
RANCHO CUCAMONGA: Snow covered a house in Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday and even covered some palm trees
GREEN VALLEY: A car slid off the snowy road into a pond in the Sierra Pelona Mountains in Saturday
REONDO BEACH: A driver braved hail and rain during the winter storm on Saturday
LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles River flooded during the heavy rainfall
The National Weather Service is now warning residents of the Sacramento state capital to avoid travel Sunday through Wednesday as rain and snow have resumed.
“Extreme impacts from heavy snow and wind will cause extremely hazardous to impossible driving conditions and likely widespread road closures and infrastructure impacts!” the agency said on Twitter.
These new storms are expected to bring wind gusts of up to 50 mph in the Sacramento Valley and up to 110 mph in the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains.
A massive low-pressure system driven from the Arctic is responsible for the unusual conditions, said Bryan Jackson, a forecaster with the NWS Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.
In Southern California, “this is a rare instance of a cold significant storm event,” he said.
