Freezing winter storms in the USA – California hit by snow and rain masses – News

Unusually severe cold and massive rainfall are causing power outages and traffic chaos on the US west coast.

A rare winter storm has brought heavy snow and rain to the usually sun-drenched US state of California. Blocked roads, floods, freezing temperatures and power outages paralyzed life in parts of the west coast state.

Around 80,000 customers were at least temporarily without electricity, like the website poweroutage.us counted. While it occasionally snows even in the warmer parts of Southern California, a blizzard of this magnitude is not uncommon.

Blizzard warning for California

For the first time in decades, there was also a blizzard warning for parts of the US state. This is what violent snowstorms with severe temperature drops are called in North America. Snow-covered roads and mountains could be seen on TV images. According to media reports, the snow fell meters high in some mountainous regions.

The weather service reported on Twitter that snow or at least sleet was said to have been seen on Friday even in unusual places such as near the famous “Hollywood” sign.

Torrential rain in Los Angeles

In other parts of the state, torrential rain caused problems: In the metropolis of San Diego, two people were rescued who were stuck on a flooded street, as reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Rescue workers also came to the aid of people in need in other parts of the state. The homeless were particularly affected. According to the media, the storm brought record-breaking amounts of rain and flooding in Los Angeles, and at times there was an acute flood warning.

The West Coast’s main north-south freeway, Interstate 5, was partially closed. Yosemite National Park, about 300 kilometers east of San Francisco, also announced on its website that the park would remain closed until Wednesday due to “severe winter conditions”.

The Weather Service also warned of heavy rain and thunderstorms in parts of Southern California for the coming days. In other regions there is an avalanche warning. The low will move further south over the weekend and then move to the east of the country, it was said.