Blizzard causes snowfall in California

(Los Angeles) Heavy snowfall fell on Friday in southern California, the consequences of a rare blizzard around Los Angeles, and heavy rains threatened other areas of flooding.

The region, known for its sunshine and palm trees, is experiencing one of its worst winter storms in decades.

Some major highways were closed due to frost and snow, such as sections of the highway connecting Mexico, the United States and Canada, with no immediate prospect of reopening.

Snowfall could have “dangerous and life-threatening” consequences on roads in Southern California, the US Weather Service (NWS) has warned.

In the mountains, where the wind could blow with force, the snowflakes should be legion.

The snow and the wind have already overcome power lines, depriving 100,000 homes of power in California, according to the specialized site Poweroutage.

Even valleys “not used to receiving snow” could be covered in a white blanket, according to the NWS.

Illustration of the unusual nature of this blizzard, the local weather presenters, who generally announce sunshine day after day, found themselves facing the camera on Friday with snow up to their knees.

On social networks, everyone went there with their photo of a garden covered with snowflakes… a sight so rare that the weather service split a tutorial.

“Are you wondering what is this frozen precipitation falling from the sky in your area (if you are in the mountains)? tweeted the Los Angeles NWS, pairing its post with a graphic to differentiate snow pellets from hail.

The first, soft and wet, is made of flakes, while the second, harder, is made of ice, the agency explained.

A few flakes have even dotted the ultra-famous Hollywood sign… but according to specialists, even if it means dampening the enthusiasm, this “snow” could be just simple hailstones.

series of storms

While not everyone will find themselves under the snow, Californians living at low elevations could receive downpours, which pose a risk of flooding and mudslides.

A flood watch was in place for portions of Los Angeles County and nearby Ventura and Santa Barbara County on the Pacific coast.

The state has already been hit by a series of deadly storms from late December to mid-January.

This very wintry weather is not unique to California: still in the American West, but further north, roads were closed in Wyoming, and Oregon was experiencing record snowfall.

The city of Portland thus experienced the second snowiest day in its history, with more than 27 cm of precipitation, according to the local weather service.

What to put the mess in the air. More than 340 internal flights, from or to the United States had been canceled Friday afternoon, and more than 4,000 delayed.

While it is difficult to establish a direct link between this storm and climate change, scientists regularly explain that warming increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

For Daniel Swain, climatologist at the University of California at Los Angeles, global warming has changed the nature of winter precipitation in the region.

“In the 1940s, Los Angeles had heavy snowfall and, of course, that seems unthinkable today,” he explained.

With the climate being warmer today, seeing snowflakes at low altitudes is “less likely”, he concludes.