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Southern California snowfall levels expected to drop, some highways remain closed

by in News

Light showers and snow came back to Southern California on Wednesday and were expected to last until Thursday night, according to the National Weather Service.

Although rain was widespread throughout the region, the NWS doesn’t expect it to have much depth. Unlike the Feb. 13-14 storms, no mandatory or voluntary evacuations or advisories were put in place for residents within the Woolsey, Holy or Cranston fire burn scars. Several highways remained closed for repairs due to damage caused from last week’s storms.

Caltrans tweeted a video of a waterfall flowing over the edge of a broken road in the middle of Highway 243. Officials said that highway would be closed for at least two months from the 10 Freeway to Idyllwild while construction crews work to repair it. Highway 74 is also facing closures from Valle Vista to Mountain Center for at least one month, though Caltrans noted the highway would be open from Lake Hemet to Mountain center for residents and businesses.

Several highways in the Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests remained either partially or completely closed by Caltrans due to damage from the Feb. 13-14 storms:

  • Highway 18 will be closed for at least two weeks from Green Valley Lake Road to the Big Bear Dam.
  • Highway 111 is partially open with one lane in each direction on the northbound side of the highway. The southbound lanes will be closed for at least one month for repairs.
  • Highway 173 is closed from Highway 138 to Twin Ranch Road as of Tuesday due to flooding.
  • Highway 2 is closed from Grassy Hollow to Islip Saddle due to extreme snow conditions. It was inaccessible from Los Angeles County.

Repairs for the highways in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties will cost Caltrans approximately $14 million, according to the department.

Areas within the Holy fire burn scar near Lake Elsinore and Temescal Valley were expected to get no more than 0.15 inches of rain per hour between Wednesday night and Friday morning, the NWS said. The Cranston fire burn scar near Idyllwild and Lake Hemet was expected to get a maximum of a quarter-inch per hour during the same time frame.

“There is a slight chance of a thunderstorm on Thursday afternoon, but even so limited moisture would keep rainfall rates well below flash flow warning thresholds,” said NWS meteorologist Dan Gregoria. “For the Holy fire burn scar, total precipitation of 0.25 to 0.5 inches is expected. For Cranston, total precipitation of .75 to two inches is expected, and much of this will fall as snow levels drop from around 3,500 feet Wednesday evening to about 2,500 feet on Thursday afternoon.”

The NWS estimated that Big Bear will get between six and eight inches of snow between Wednesday and Thursday night, and a Winter Storm Warning was put into place for higher elevation areas in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. A winter weather advisory was in place for the mountains north of Los Angeles.

Two to four inches of snow are expected for areas between 3,500 to 4,000 feet, four to eight inches are predicted for elevations in the 4,000 to 5,000-foot range and the NWS is estimating between six inches and a foot of snow in areas between 5,000 and 6,500 feet high. The NWS said mountain peaks may see localized snowfall that reaches heights of 20 inches.

Weather officials said the snow level was between 4,000 and 4,500 feet on Wednesday afternoon and was expected to be at 2,500 to 3,500 feet between Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon and will possibly get as low as 2,000 feet on Thursday night.

Snow could also fall on the 5 Freeway, prompting closures in the Grapevine area, according to Caltrans. The California Highway Patrol  put pace cars on  the 5 Freeway to keep drivers from driving too fast in what it deemed to be unsafe or hazardous conditions.

 

A freeze watch was in effect for the Santa Monica Mountains and the Santa Clarita, San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys. It was effective for Thursday night through Friday morning when temperatures could drop to between 29 and 32 degrees and kill crops and harm pets and livestock, the NWS said.

Gregoria said dry weather is expected to start on Friday and last until the end of February.