Snowstorm covers Northern California, while to the south the rains cause street closures due to flooding
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More than 250 miles of the Sierra from north of Reno south to Yosemite National Park remained under winter storm warnings following heavy snowfall.
Heavy snow fell in the Sierra Nevada as a winter storm with strong winds swayed cable car chairs and closed mountain roads, while downpours in lower elevations triggered flood watches Sunday for large swaths of California into Nevada.
More than 250 miles of the Sierra from north of Reno south to Yosemite National Park remained under winter storm warnings through Sunday night or early Monday.
“The snow forecast for the Sierra is straightforward with snow expected to continue throughout the day and periods of localized heavier snow bands resulting in limited visibility and increased snow totals,” the bureau meteorologists said. of Reno from the National Weather Service.
Mountain snow has resulted in some road closures. @LACoPublicWorks has a website where you can check for closures. We have more snow on the way, down to 3500 feet, so closures are likely to continue. #CAwx #SoCal #LAsnow https://t.co/pNvxZRFyS8
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) December 12, 2022
As of Sunday morning, 48 inches had fallen in Sierra-at-Tahoe, 46 inches in Tahoe Donner, more than 40 inches in Palisades Tahoe, 33 inches in Kirkwood and 32 inches in Heavenly during the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, rain fell steadily across Southern California, with minor flooding, mud and debris flows closing some roads.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works reported that Lake Hughes Road, between Pine Canyon and Dry Gulch roads in Lake Hughes, was closed due to mud and debris on the road. The agency asked the public to avoid the area and use alternate routes.
In Pomona, the Police Department reported flooding at the First Street underpass, with several streets in the area closed or affected by flooding, including South Reservoir Street, South Towne Avenue, East End Street, Garey Avenue and White Avenue.
#WPC_MD 1155 affecting Southwest California, #cawx, https://t.co/04MfuJ0Ueo pic.twitter.com/H7fLukx3za
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) December 11, 2022
“We got significant rain over our mountains last night and are beginning to see a response in our major local rivers. Not enough to reach monitoring or flood level, but we are finally seeing some flow,” the Los Angeles office of the National Weather Service tweeted.
Meanwhile, Doppler radar indicated heavy rain due to thunderstorms in southern Orange County, with minor flooding expected to begin in Irvine, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, Laguna Beach, Dana Point and Laguna Niguel.
The mountains of Los Angeles County were predicted to see rainfall rates of 1/2 to 3/4 inch per hour. Those rates prompted the NWS to issue a flash flood watch for the mountains, Antelope Valley and San Gabriel Valley.