And more is coming..
Posted on 01/08/2005 6:27:11 PM PST by DeaconBenjamin
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- As many as 200 vehicles got stuck in deep snow early Saturday in the San Bernardino Mountains as the latest in a series of storms struck California. The storms quickly moved eastward, closing all three major highways over the Sierra Nevada.
Up to 10 feet was expected over the weekend at the Sierra's higher elevations, according to the National Weather Service.
Snow piled up 3 to 4 feet deep along a 15-mile stretch of highway between the Snow Valley ski resort and Big Bear dam, said Tracey Martinez, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County fire department.
``People were panicking and calling 911 on their cell phones,'' Martinez said. ``It's going to take us awhile to get all the folks out of there.''
No injuries were reported as rescue crews used tracked vehicles to pick up the snowbound motorists in the mountains about 90 miles east of Los Angeles.
Up to 15 inches of snow were reported in parts of Colorado's San Juan Mountains, as well, adding to the 19 inches dumped earlier this week by storms. The new snow delighted skiers, but made driving treacherous, with winds gusting near 60 mph on snowpacked, icy roads above 8,000 feet.
In the East, heavy rain and snow that fell earlier in the week caused flooding along the Ohio River that was chasing some residents out of their homes in communities in West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Meteorologists predicted the river would reach its highest level in eight years at Louisville, Ky. The stormy weather had caused widespread outages in parts of Ohio, and utilities said about 100,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity on Saturday.
Some neighborhoods below California's San Bernardino Mountains recorded more than a half-inch of rain every hour, and homeowners rushed to pile sandbags.
``I used to love the rain,'' said Dallas Branscone of San Bernardino County's Devore area. ``Now, I dread all these storms.''
Elsewhere in California, up to 4 1/2 feet of snow fell overnight in the Sierra Nevada around Lake Tahoe, ski areas reported Saturday. That came on top of as much as 9 feet of snow in the Sierra and 4 feet in Reno on Dec. 30.
Interstate 80, which crosses the Sierra and links Sacramento, Calif., to the Reno-Tahoe, Nev., area, closed Saturday as did two other major Sierra highways -- U.S. 50 over Echo Summit and Highway 88 over Carson Pass.
The storm also delayed Amtrak passengers over the Sierra and caused dozens of cancellations and delays at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.
The wild weather knocked out power for thousands of homes and businesses and blocked mountain roads. One person died in a sailboat smashed by wind and waves, two resort workers in the Sierra were found dead in a snow-covered car and two other people were killed in a car accident on slippery roads in Glendale.
Homeowners were especially concerned in San Bernardino County foothill towns that were devastated by wildfires and mudslides in 2003.
``You can only do so much,'' said Thom Master of Devore. ``If 2 feet of mud comes, these little sandbags aren't going to do much.''
In southern Colorado, avalanche warnings were issued Saturday for the San Juan and La Plata mountains. Slides were reported across U.S. 550 Saturday morning, but no one was trapped.
Along the Ohio River, hundreds of Ohio and West Virginia residents had evacuated their homes and stacked sandbags.
The river was nearly 4 feet above flood stage and still rising Saturday morning at Point Pleasant, W.Va., and was about 7 feet above flood stage but beginning to recede at Marietta, Ohio, the National Weather Service said. Downstream, it was expected to crest Tuesday at slightly more than 5 feet above at Cincinnati, the weather service said.
Water was 2 to 4 feet deep Saturday in the streets of downtown Marietta, closing businesses.
Louisville had already closed part of its River Road and installed two of its flood gates, and the Caesars Indiana riverboat casino in Harrison County, Ind., was shut down. The expected 28-foot crest at Louisville, 5 feet over flood stage, would be the highest since March 1997.
In north-central Indiana, some 100,000 homes and businesses remained without power Saturday, three days after a paralyzing ice storm.
Joe, once driving through Angeles Crest not long after a snow storm, I saw a few like you had described, pulled along side the road.
I actually saw "graffiti" painted directly on the snow. I'm not sure if they were the ones who actually did it, but it still caught my attention, since these folks were pulled over on a peculiar part of the road.
Clueless was one of the words I thought of, but there were many more that came to mind, as you can surely imagine.
Maybe I am mistaken, but wasn't the female that started that fire somehow connected with a fire department or forestery?
We got about a foot and a half today in Sparks.
I think in Colorado, the year before, a female was caught for that reason, setting off their largest forest fire. Sadly, that one cost lives.
You must be quite the person thinking that every Mexican you see is an illegal alien. Think about it for a minute. We do have Mexicans who actually are American citizens! Did you know that?
That's it! It was Colorado.
Gee, I miss that place. Many good times. Especially the time when my friend Linda and I were the only girls in the bar...with about 25 Australian men!
Ah, memories of youth (SIGH)
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Folks in California never seem to get it.When you build on a cliff you may slide off.When you live in a desert you may have water shortages.When you drive in the mountains in January you may get snow.California= fruits and NUTS.
I think it's God's way of encouraging the weaklings and sissies to re-think fleeing to Canada to get away from democracy.
Kinda like folks living in North Carolina or Florida, you may get blown into the next state by a hurricane. I guess by your logic, they don't get it either.
How long do we give before somebody blames GWB for the snowfall and stranded motorists...(sarcasm)
On the east coast we understand we are going to have huricanes.People in California dont understand they can get bad weather like the rest of us.Driving in the moutains in January,you should be ready for snow.I live in SC and Im ready for the next storm,been thru a lot of them since 1953 and never got blown into another state.
And more is coming..
I can't imagine ever carrying chains. Being from Alaska I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen someone using them (and they usually have CA plates). I personally don't know of anyone who even owns them.
Being that the weather changes drastically in California based on your altitude, responsible people here carry chains. You can get 'em at Pep Boys. By contrast, in some places chains are illegal. It's weird. I'm thinking of Virginia and Illinois where I used to live, maybe? The laws might have changed.
Those are some nasty images!
There's a lot of moisture way out there, not sure where it is gonna end up for now..
It must be a mess down there.
We had a pretty mild ride of it in the Bay Area today after last night.. Some blue sky, but it'll be swinging back up north, I would hazard to bet. ;-)
Silver lining is at least we may out of drought danger for a bit.
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