Battling Nature’s Fury: California’s Snowfall Surge Tests Resilience Amidst Back-to-Back Storms
California was hammered with yet another winter storm on Monday, adding to what has become an unusually chilly and wet season that some experts say has the potential to become one of the snowiest on record if current circumstances persist.
The next winter storm is expected to bring more rain and snow to the state by Wednesday, but it is not expected to be as powerful as the previous system, which dumped snow at extremely low levels nearly statewide. The most recent system, though, could be a hint of a trend of rainy storms in the coming weeks, adding to the already massive snowpack in the Sierra, which is especially helpful after California experienced its driest year on record.
“With extremely active and cold, snowy conditions are expected for at least the next couple of weeks,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said in a virtual session on Monday, “it’s very possible we’ll end up vying for one of the top two snow years on record in regions of the state.”
Whatever happens, the Sierra Nevada will have a massive snowfall by the end of the year.
The snowpack, which is critical to the state’s water supply, is still substantially above average for this time of year, and with blizzard warnings in effect for the Sierra Nevada through Wednesday, its depth is expected to climb over the next several days, if not weeks, according to Swain. The National Weather Service predicts up to 6 feet of snowfall in the Sierra, where previously unheard-of snowfall occurred last week, and up to 2 feet in the mountains of Southern California until Wednesday.
According to Swain, it will be interesting to observe how this plays out over the next few weeks until the snowfall season ends in April. Yet, all signs point to further significant snow accumulations in the coming weeks.
Officials warn that the further precipitation expected over the next four days might create new hazardous road conditions and power outages, despite being beneficial to the snowpack and the state’s severe drought.
Snowfall in the Southern California mountains is expected to be the “most substantial feature of the storm” locally, according to David Gomberg of the National Weather Service in Oxnard. According to the National Weather Service’s final accumulation calculation, the latest storm dumped more than 50 inches of rain on numerous Southland peaks, with the Mountain High ski resort in Wrightwood collecting more than 90 inches.
According to Swain, this was one of the biggest snowfalls ever recorded in the Southern California highlands. In reaction to “residents of mountain villages finding themselves detained at home or unable to return home owing to several feet of snow that fell over the weekend, with more to follow throughout the next several days,” San Bernardino County officials announced a state of emergency on Monday.
According to Gomberg, this new storm could deliver up to 2 feet of snow to the highest summits, complicating matters for residents and government officials after days of blocked roads—many of which are still closed owing to snow and ice from the last storm. The majority of the area’s mountains are already under a winter weather advisory, which will be upgraded to a winter storm watch on Tuesday afternoon and will stay until late Wednesday. Heavy snowfall, severe gusts, and difficult travel conditions are expected throughout this time.
According to the National Weather Service, the Lake Arrowhead section of the San Bernardino Mountains had received five feet of snow in the previous five days. As a result of the scenario, some people have had to ration food and supplies while waiting for more information and assistance, and it has also detained youngsters at nearby scientific camps and residents in their homes or holiday rentals.
Lisa Griggs, a Lake Arrowhead resident, was unable to recognize the highway outside her door when she went for a walk to get groceries owing to the recent snowfall.
“You wouldn’t assume it was the same path,” Griggs observed. Currently, the highway has only one lane. It has never been plowed and is exceedingly narrow. As a result, people are being stranded in their [car]. Vehicles are simply abandoned on the road since no one can pass.
Griggs, a Blue Jay homeowner, reported that during a snow break on Sunday, she went the two miles round trip to her neighborhood Stater Bros. shop to get food. She expressed thanks for still having power but expressed concern for elderly residents or tourists who did not bring enough food, especially with another storm on the way.
According to Annie Brown, a spokeswoman for the Irvine Unified School District, the roads to the Pali Institute Outdoor Education Center and the Thousand Pines Camp were impassable over the weekend, leaving hundreds of Irvine students stranded on their field trips to science camp in the nearby communities of Crestline and Running Springs.
On Monday, parents were informed that buses will travel to the campsites three days later than planned and will be escorted by California Highway Patrol.
The snow line in Lake Arrowhead will remain low on Tuesday, between 3,500 and 4,000 feet, but it could dip as low as 2,500 feet by the storm’s end on Wednesday.
Redlands East Valley High School now houses a Red Cross shelter for “mountain people unable to return home and in need of secure safety.”
According to meteorologist Dan Gregoria of the National Weather Service in San Diego, many residents had never seen this amount of snowfall in their lives.
Predictions show that the storm will bring less rain to Southern California’s coasts and valleys than it did last week, with the foothills receiving up to 2 inches by Wednesday.
Although the most recent storm is not expected to bring excessive rain, Gomberg warned that given the already precarious conditions in Southern California, the back-to-back rainfall could cause more serious problems as crews continue to assist those in Los Angeles County who are still without power and on roadways that are still blocked by debris.
According to Gomberg, the rain would be less alarming if it fell on its own because everything is already loose and soaked.
The recent storm, which produced record-breaking rainfall, caused flooding and tree damage, as well as mudslides and rockslides in the area. Many properties, including Gevorg Terteryan’s home on Paulette Way, were destroyed by a particularly massive slide near La Caada Flintridge. The city experienced more than 9 inches of rain in a short period of time, according to records.
Terteryan reported that he was awake early Saturday when the hillside behind his house partially collapsed, dumping tonnes of mud and debris into his home. No one was injured, but his home, which he purchased less than four years ago and hoped to live in for the rest of his life, was yellow-tagged by officials early Monday.
In the Santa Monica Mountains, more than 10 inches of rain fell in Woodland Hills and Stunt Ranch, more than 8 inches in Pasadena, and about 5 inches in downtown Los Angeles and Culver City. According to Gomberg, both the Los Angeles International Airport and the Hollywood Burbank Airport had record rainfall on Friday. LAX received 2.04 inches in a 24-hour period, breaking the previous record of three-quarters of an inch set on February 24, 2000. The airport in Burbank received 4.61 inches of rain, breaking the previous record of 3.87 inches set in 1998.
Winds from this storm will be “not as violent as the previous incident,” according to Gomberg, but they are still a risk. A wind advisory is in effect for the Antelope Valley through Monday night. The Alps were expected to see gusts of up to 70 mph.
Nathalie Granger, a Lake Arrowhead resident, is having to deal with the repercussions of the previous storm while preparing for the next. The 33-year-old stated that she had donated dog food, milk, and baby wipes to her neighbors over the course of many days. She also planned to pull out her generator and gasoline in case she lost electricity.
Granger stated that a state of dread was taking hold. We’re going to ration our fuel among ourselves and two other neighbors, which appears to be a bad idea.
Granger noted that, despite having power as of Monday, she is unsure what to expect from the upcoming storm. She voiced continuous concern for the visitors stranded in Lake Arrowhead with few supplies, as well as the possibility that folks from other regions of California will learn about the snow and wish to visit the area.
“I simply want everyone to be safe,” she answered. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to anyone, so let’s take a closer look at this.”