Southland Slammed By Record Rain, Snow And Even A Tornado

LOS ANGELES, CA — A major storm slammed the Southland for Christmas dropping record rainfall, more than a foot of snow in the mountains and even a rare tornado along the coast.

The stormed dropped 1.03 inches of rain in Long Beach on Christmas, setting a new record. Snow dropped to 2,500-feet, shutting down the grapevine and the Cajon Pass. Heavy rainfall triggered a slew of SigAlerts across Los Angeles Thursday morning, causing pile-ups and flooded freeways. The intense wind knocked over trees throughout the region while a tornado touched down in the harbor in Ventura County, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The strong winter storm left the area after dumping more than two inches of rain on portions of the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys Thursday and 36 inches of new snow at the Mountain High ski resort in the San Gabriel Mountains.

Rainfall totals included 2.91 inches in Pasadena, 2.2 inches in Woodland Hills, 2.06 inches in Northridge and Van Nuys, 1.93 inches in Pomona, 1.84 inches at Long Beach Airport, 1.82 inches in Sandberg, 1.66 inches in Saugus, 1.65 inches in Culver City, 1.57 inches in Burbank, 1.51 inches in Chatsworth and 1.46 inches at Los Angeles International Airport,

Hundreds of travelers were stranded for hours at the Cajon Pass in the Mojave Desert as a result of snowy conditions.

The pass was reopened about 2:15 p.m. Farther north on Interstate 15, the freeway was closed in both directions between Baker and Primm -- across the Nevada state line -- because of icy conditions and multiple crashes, causing motorists heading to and from Las Vegas to make other plans, according to Caltrans.

A wind advisory expired at 10 p.m. throughout much of the rest of Los Angeles County.

The storm out of the Gulf of Alaska was the second of back-to-back storms to hit Southern California. Both brought more rain than anticipated.

"The system is pivoting on itself," Stewart said. That means the rainfall could remain in the area longer than originally forecast.

Snow levels dropped to 2,500 feet and accumulations could be 1-2 feet at resorts and 6-12 inches around the I-5 Grapevine, with at least 1-2 inches on the road itself, forecasters said.

The California Highway Patrol shut down the Golden State (5) Freeway between Lake Hughes Road and Grapevine Road over the Grapevine pass at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday due to multiple stuck vehicles and heavy snowfall.

The low snow level also means Highway 14 and the Antelope Valley could have snow accumulation, Stewart said. Even Lancaster and Palmdale could get snow.

There could be 1-2 inches of rain in most areas during the storm, she said. The San Gabriel Mountains and foothills could get up to 4 inches of rain.

Winds of 15-25 mph are forecast in the L.A. Basin with gusts of 40-50 mph and mountain gusts could hit 50-60 mph, which could make travel treacherous.

A Flood Advisory was also in effect until 3:15 a.m. Thursday.

L.A.-area temperatures were expected to drop into the mid-upper 40s along the coast and in valleys with low-mid 30's in the mountains and Antelope Valley, Stewart said. Thursday highs in the mid-upper 50s were forecast for the coast and inland with upper 30s to mid-40's in the mountains.

Thursday night temperatures were expected to be in the upper 20s in the Antelope Valley, she said.

City News Service contributed to this report.