JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Heavy snow, intense winds and near zero visibilities.
This isn’t happening in the Northern Plains. It’s happening in Southern California.
Parts of the Golden State are being slammed by the one of the most intense winter storms in decades.
Snow in Hollywood?
A powerful winter storm is pushing across much of the area, creating snow at elevations that normally don’t see snow.
Snow is expected at elevations near and above 2,500 feet Friday, but light snow has been reported even lower.
The famous Hollywood sign on Mount Lee actually saw some wintry precipitation.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles confirmed that a mixture of light snow and graupel did fall near or on the sign.
The rest of Hollywood sits at lower elevations, where they’ve seen just rain.
Hail had been reported in other Southern California cities, including Pasadena and Long Beach on Thursday.
A real blizzard
Blizzard warnings continue for the mountains in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
This is the first time the National Weather Service in Los Angeles has issued a Blizzard Warning since 1989.
The weather service in San Diego issued its first blizzard warning ever for the San Bernardino county mountains.
The snow is already piling up and more heavy snow is on the way for the higher terrain.
Widespread amounts of 6-12″ of snow are expected at elevations above 2,500 feet.
Some mountain tops may receive a stunning 7-8 feet of snow.
Winds will also increase dramatically, especially in the mountains. Wind gusts of 60-75 mph, with isolated gusts of 80 mph are possible.
This will create white-out to near white-out conditions even in the lower mountain passes.
By definition, a Blizzard Warning is issued when snow reduces to visibility to 1/4 mile for at least 3 hours, and sustained winds of 35 mph or greater.
LA impacts
The vast majority of Southern Californians will not see the significant snow, but even areas in valleys and the coast will see significant impacts.
2-5 inches of rain will be possible in the lower elevations with the winter storm, with a Flood Watch posted for most of the area.
This is actually a huge amount, as Los Angeles receives less than 15″ of rain a year.
Winds will also be an issue, with wind gusts in the valleys and the coast between 30-50 mph. This will likely create isolated power outages across the region.
So one of the worst winter storms in nearly a generation is battering Southern California, with Friday and the weekend featuring some very intense winter weather.