A blizzard warning in Los Angeles County?
You’d better believe it. And, the National Weather Service says, you’d better heed it.
The combination of heavy snow (two storms, each bringing at least 2 feet of snow) and high winds (60 mph and greater) expected to begin Wednesday night and last through Saturday has prompted the weather service’s Los Angeles office to issue its first blizzard warning for the mountains since, well, forever.
“This is the first blizzard warning that we are aware of,” the weather service said in a Twitter post.
The weather service’s San Diego office, meanwhile, is predicting “blizzard-like conditions” for the duration of the storm in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains but wouldn’t go so far as to issue a blizzard warning.
The specific period for the warning is 4 a.m. Friday through 4 a.m. Saturday.
“We want the public to be aware this is not just a winter weather advisory, a winter storm warning. It’s a higher threat than that,” said Lisa Phillips, a meteorologist in the Los Angeles office. “Typically, it happens in the Midwest, South Dakota, Wyoming. One minute you can see and the next minute you can’t see anything in front of you.
“It’s not a time for anybody to be on the road, especially people who have not been in blizzard conditions before,” Phillips said.
Blizzard warning for extremely dangerous mountain conditions coming. Mountain travel will be a mess.
Clarification note on previous post: After review more records, This is the first blizzard warning that we are aware of (even dating back before 2007).
#cawx #larain#cawx pic.twitter.com/edogSe9ecq— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) February 22, 2023
The storm will also bring unusually low temperatures to the lower elevations and danger to beachgoers and boat pilots.
“This is a pretty massive winter storm for Southern California,” weather service meteorologist James Brotherton said.
Gusts as high as 75 mph have been forecast for…
Read the full article here
