Snowfall tops 6.5 feet, rainfall tops 5 inches across Southern California

ByHaley Brink and Eric Levenson, CNN, CNNWire
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Person stranded atop Porsche as freeway floods from historic CA storms
Storms in Southern California have brought 6.5 feet of snow and 5 inches of rain. The latest weather forecast shows a second system moving in.

A winter storm dumped massive amounts of precipitation across southern California this weekend, including more than 6.5 feet of snow to Mountain High and more than 5 inches of rain to Cucamonga Canyon, CNN reported.

The hefty snowfall totals included 5 feet to Snow Valley, 57 inches to Bear Mountain Snow Summit, 50 to 55 inches to Wrightwood Acorn Canyon, 45 inches to Green Valley Lake, 38 inches to Mount Baldy, and 36 inches to Lake Arrowhead, according to the National Weather Service in San Diego.

In addition, heavy rainfall brought several inches of rain to the area, including more than 4 inches in Holy Jim Canyon, Lower Silverado Canyon and Henshaw Dam; more than three inches in La Jolla Amago, Costa Mesa, Mount Woodson and Carlsbad Airport; and more than two inches to John Wayne Airport, Escondido, San Bernardino and Temecula, according to the service's 5-day rainfall reports.

The precipitation came as a rare blizzard warning was in effect for parts of southern California and the Los Angeles region, spawning unfamiliar wintry conditions at higher elevations.

The same storm system is moving east and is expected to produce a significant damaging wind event across the central US on Sunday. More than 20 million people are under the threat of severe storms Sunday from western Texas to Illinois, including Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Kansas City, Fort Worth, and St. Louis.

Meanwhile, a new winter storm is set to bring more rain and snow to the western US, starting with the Pacific Northwest on Sunday.

More than a foot of snow is possible with the system across the Sierras and Cascades. A second system will be right on the first's heels, pushing inland across the Pacific Northwest Sunday night bringing even more snow.

An additional 1 to 2 feet of snow is possible across the Cascades, Sierras, and Rockies through Tuesday. Isolated areas of the Sierras could see up to 3 feet.

The snowstorms will create dangerous or impossible travel conditions across the western mountain ranges through the beginning of this week.

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