'Epic' Winter Storm Slams California With Blizzards, Flooding

CALIFORNIA — A historic winter storm unleashed torrential rains and heavy snow on parts of California on Saturday, snarling travel, closing roads, and prompting water rescues in some heavily flooded areas.

Most of California remains under a weather watch or warning Saturday. Los Angeles County remains under an areal flood watch until 6 p.m., while Orange County and San Diego County coastal areas are under the same watch until 10 p.m. and 12 a.m. Sunday respectively, according to Accuweather.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County mountains are under a blizzard warning until 4 p.m. Saturday, while other locations like Death Valley National Park and the Mojave National Preserve are under a winter storm warning until 4 a.m. Sunday. Winter storm warnings are also in effect through central and northeastern California, including areas just outside Fresno, Sacramento and Redding.

"This will be an epic storm for much of Southern California," Accuweather forecaster Ken Clark said.

State officials urged Californians to prepare for everything from power outages and flooding to avalanches and mudslides as the storm moves through the Golden State.

"There's going to be a lot of rain, there's going to be a lot of snow, and there's going to be a lot of freezing temperatures in different areas, so we just want everyone to be prepared," Alicia de la Garza, public information officer at the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, told AccuWeather.

The storm left more than 118,000 homes and businesses without power Saturday, according to poweroutage.us.

Meanwhile, the rains hampered travel at Los Angeles International Airport as the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop late Friday for all departing and arriving flights, according to Accuweather. The stop expired around 1 a.m. Saturday morning.

Shortly before 9 a.m. Saturday, nearly 50 flights had been canceled at LAX while more than 170 were delayed, according to FlightAware.com.

Rain in most areas began Wednesday night with heavier downpours late Thursday and into Friday rain is expected throughout Southern California through the weekend and into midweek in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties, National Weather Service forecasters said.

Flash flood warnings were issued from Friday through 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. Saturday in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The weather service said flash flooding occurred in Ventura County, where up to 7 inches of rain had fallen and up to 10 inches were possible before the storm turned showery on Saturday afternoon.

In Los Angeles County, forecasters said life-threatening flash flooding was possible near creeks, streams, urban areas, highways and areas burned by wildfires. The threat zone included downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and many suburbs.

Interstate 5 in Los Angeles County was closed in several spots Saturday morning due to flooding, according to Accuweather.

The Los Angeles Fire Department rescued four people and five animals from flooding in Encino on Saturday, Accuweather reported.

Three men, a woman, four dogs and a cat were stranded in a remote area of the heavily-flooded Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area. Firefighters were able to rescue them by helicopter, and two people were taken to the hospital with hypothermia.

Meanwhile, other parts of California braced for more snow as the National Weather Service predicted additional heavy snowfall over the Cascade Mountains and the Sierra Nevada into the weekend.

By Friday afternoon, the heaviest snow totals in California reached 3 and 4 feet in the higher elevations of the state. Soda Springs in Northern California saw the highest three-day snowfall total with 45.1 inches of snow, according to Accuweather. In Southern California, Big Bear Lake recorded 37 inches.

An avalanche warning was issued for the Sierra Nevada backcountry around Lake Tahoe. Nearly 2 feet of new snow had fallen by Friday, and up to another 5 feet is expected when another storm moves in with the potential for gale-force winds and high-intensity flurries Sunday, the weather service said.