Posted on 01/17/2007 4:31:40 PM PST by Phantom Lord
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. -- Snow fell on the palm trees of West Los Angeles and Malibu Wednesday afternoon as Jack Frost visited the Southland again.
CHP To Escort Motorists Through Icy Grapevine
NBC4 forecaster Fritz Coleman said the mixture of precipitation in West Los Angeles included a dusting of snow. Residents in West Los Angeles said the snow accumulated in parking lots, on cars and around palm trees near Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards and other areas.
Snow fell earlier Wednesday in Malibu and caused traffic problems on the area's winding and narrow roads. More snow was reported in Canyon Country, where a resident said he has not seen snow for about 10 years.
The weather system brought snow and ice to other parts of the region and prompted the National Weather Service to issue winter-weather advisories for local mountains and the Antelope Valley.
"We're at the mercy of Mother Nature," said California Highway Patrol Officer Francisco Villalobos
Snow, Ice Close Grapevine
Authorities closed the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway at Parker Road in northern Los Angeles County about 8:40 a.m., due to snow and ice on the section of the route popularly known as the Grapevine, the California Highway Patrol reported.
Southbound lanes were closed at Laval Road, Villalobos said. The closure was continuing early this afternoon, with no estimate of its duration.
CHP officers said they plan to escort motorists -- 100 vehicles at a time -- through the area. Motorists should expect long waits, CHP Officer Patrick Kimball said. Vehicles were stopped on the side of the freeway as snowplows cleared paths.
"I go to work in Bakersfield, and I got stuck here," a trucker told NBC4. "It's beautiful."
CHP officers provided motorists with alternate routes, but warned that conditions on some of those roads also were dangerous because of ice and snow.
CHP Officer George White said about three inches of snow accumulated on the freeway, with a layer of ice underneath, causing a number of car and truck spinouts near the Pyramid Lake area. South of Pyramid Lake, in the Santa Clarita area, drivers were contending with hail and slushy snow.
Weather Pattern To Continue
"A cold upper low will continue to move south over southwestern California today, bringing scattered shower activity to the area," according to a NWS statement. "A very cold air mass is expected to remain across the mountain areas, Antelope Valley and interior sections of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties today."
Meteorologists said that the mix of cold air and showers "will produce dangerous winter-weather conditions, including icy roadways, across the advisory areas.
During the afternoon, most of the snow is forecast to remain north of Los Angeles. Snow showers are possible in San Bernardino County.
"If you must travel today, be prepared for icy spots on roadways," the NWS statement continued. "Bridges and overpasses are most likely to be icy. When encountering icy conditions, do not make sudden movements, which may cause you to lose control of your vehicle."
The winter-weather advisories are to remain in effect until 3 p.m.
The mercury fell to 14 degrees in Palmdale overnight and dropped to 8 degrees in Lancaster, according to Stuart Seto of the NWS.
In the San Fernando Valley, the lowest overnight temperature in Van Nuys was 35 degrees, with the mercury falling to 29 degrees in Woodland Hills, said Seto.
Earlier Wednesday, a water main break in Van Nuys flooded a section of Vesper Avenue and left about 30 customers without service today. The ruptured line was one of scores of problems related to the record cold weather over the past few days.
The break in a 6-inch line near Vesper Avenue and Hatteras Street occurred shortly after midnight, said Carol Tucker of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Saw the clouds as I was driving. Still cool here. More wet then snow. Snow to be down to 1,000 feet tonight. Good skiing in the local mountains.
And it is freezing here in Northern Virginia for the first time, shall I say it, this winter. The globe is not warming. It is showing us who is boss.
No we're not, Officer. All we've got to do is dump some more greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.
Aha! You're right! George W. Bush is causing another ice age!
AWWW, the poor Californians. My heart bweeds! :-)
This winter was supposed to be warmer than normal in OK and my street has been a sheet of ice since Monday -- melts a little during the day and at night freezes back up. Now saying that we are getting 8 inches of snow this weekend. Some global warming -- it is flat out cold, icy, and miserable!
Bet they get snow where we used to live in Yucapia, CA. We lived on Date Ave in the Upper part and one time no one could make it up the hill in the evening after snow dropped down to our level at 3100 feet. Kids had a ball playing in the backyard making snowmen!
The mantra now is "climate change".
That term lets any "unusual" weather be blamed on white American males who eat meat.
Young woman in our office was emailed a picture taken at her West L.A. house this afternoon. Looked to me like hail on the ground -- not snow.
Still, pretty unusual.
The last time it snowed in Westwood was 1949.
I live in Mentone...I wonder if I will be able to post more snow pics tomorrow!
Ping!
Rove, you magnificent bastard, turn off the machine!
Are you kidding -- we're having a ball!
"Today, California will be a leader in the fight against global warming . . . I say the debate is over. We know the science, we see the threat and we know the time for action is now. Global warming, pollution and the burning of fossil fuels that caused it are threats we see here in California and everywhere around the world . . . We have no choice but to meet this challenge."-- Arnold Schwarzenegger, speaking at World Environment Day
San Francisco City Hall, June 1, 2005
Aronald will throw a few billion $$ at globle warmin, don't worry.
Got any snow at the beach?
Women and minorities hit hardest!
I used to go to Stater Bros down there -- don't know if it is still there or not and my husband used to go Norton AFB using Greenspot (?) road. I think that was the name. Been there many times when I didn't want to drive through Yucaipa and took the backway to Norton AFB by the Ranger Station.
Looking forward to the pictures. Nothing prettier then when snow hits the mountains especially when Mount Gorgonio is covered with snow.
Do they still have the apple orchards? Used to go buy apple pie's at Laws. Brings back memories of driving up Oak Glen Road and seeing a black bear eating apples. My son who was little at the time went nuts in the car when he saw the bear eating the apples. Wanted to stop and go pet him! Every year we would get snow in the backyard even if it was just a little bit. One night at nine they were out in the backyard playing in the snow.
Guess you all didn't burn enough fossil fuels this winter?
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