Heavy Snow Hits Southern California – Crypto News Aktuell in German

LOS ANGELES — Heavy snow fell in Southern California on Friday as the first snowstorm in a generation battered the Los Angeles area and heavy rains threatened flooding elsewhere.

Breathless weather presenters on TV, more used to it, the same thing every day forecast Delivering warm sunshine found themselves knee-deep in white stuff as the region grappled with its worst winter storm in decades.

Major roads were closed as ice and snow made them impassable, including sections of Interstate 5, the major north-south highway connecting Mexico, the United States and Canada.

Authorities said there was no estimate of when it would reopen.

“Hazardous and potentially life-threatening effects of snow are likely on mountain, desert and foothill roads in Southern California,” the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

“Several laps of heavy snow combined with strong winds will result in blizzard conditions over some of the higher terrain and mountain passes.

“Areas very close to the Pacific coast and also in the inland valleys that are not used to seeing snow may experience snowfall.”

Snow and high winds brought down power lines and turned off the lights for 118,000 customers in California, according to poweroutage.us.

TV stations sent their presenters to the mountainous regions, where some reported on the bad traffic and others chatted with happy children on the day off from school.

Social media platforms were inundated with images of varying amounts of snow in gardens as residents marveled at the wintry weather.

The NWS bot posted a Twitter tutorial for Californians struggling to give a name to the unusual white stuff that spoils the view of palm trees.

“Wondering what kind of frozen precipitation falls from the sky in your area (assuming you’re at a higher elevation)? Here’s an informative graphic…distinguishing between sleet and hail,” NWS Los Angeles tweeted.

Hail (“hard and solid”) are “frozen raindrops made of ice from thunderstorms,” ​​while sleet (“soft and wet”) are “snowflakes collecting supercooled water droplets on the outer surface,” the agency informed readers.

– flash floods –

But for people living at lower elevations, heavy rain prompted warnings of flooding and landslides.

A flood watch was in place for parts of Ventura, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties where up to an inch of rain was expected in an hour.

“Increased risk of flash flooding/rock slides,” the NWS said.

“Expect the possibility of very heavy rain, road flooding, small hail and gusty winds. Oceanic waterspouts and land-based tornadoes are possible.”

Winter weather also made life difficult in other parts of the West, as roads were closed in Wyoming and Oregon reported near-record-breaking snow.

“Portland experienced its second snowiest day on record (on Thursday) with 10.8 inches of snow,” the city’s NWS said.

The severe weather has further hampered flights after several days of misery for air travelers.

More than 340 flights to, from or around the United States had been canceled by Friday 2000 GMT, with another 4,000 delayed.