A winter storm is set to pummel California on Friday, with a rare blizzard warning in effect for mountains in the southern part of the state and snow expected to fall as low as 1,500 feet.
The storm began rolling into the Golden State on Thursday, bringing rain, hail and snow, including to the beaches of Santa Cruz in northern California.
The National Weather Service in San Diego issued its first ever blizzard warning for mountainous areas including Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead and Wrightwood lasting through Saturday. The National Weather Service in Los Angeles issued its own blizzard warning for the mountains of both Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Here’s what you need to know about Friday’s weather:
- A first-ever blizzard warning is in effect in the Big Bear Lake area of Southern California from 4 a.m. Friday until 4 p.m. Saturday, as well as other parts of the San Bernardino Mountains.
- In Los Angeles County, snow could fall at elevations as low as 1,000 feet.
- In the Northeast, mixed precipitation is in the forecast as another winter storm moves out of the area.
‘Stay home’
The winter storm could dump as much as 5 feet of snow in Big Bear, about two hours northeast of Los Angeles, said Bob Larson, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.
Sustained winds are expected to reach 25 to 35 mph, with gusts between 50 and 60 mph, making travel “very difficult to impossible,” the National Weather Service said.
“Visibility will be near zero,” the warning said.
“This storm should not be taken lightly!” the City of Big Bear Lake tweeted. “Stay home. Stay warm. Stay safe.”
More:Southern California blizzard warning unleashes ‘real danger’ on the unhoused
Hollywood snow
Snow could fall at elevations as low as 1,000 feet in Los Angeles County, Larson said. The famed Hollywood sign that overlooks Los Angeles in the Santa Monica Mountains lies at just over 1,500 feet.
In higher elevations of the county and Ventura County to the north, winds could gust up to 80 mph with 2 to 5 feet of snow above 4,000 feet and as much as 8 feet of snow in areas including Mount Baldy, Los Angeles County’s tallest peak and a popular destination for hikers, skiers and mountaineers.
The Mount Baldy resort closed its slopes, saying on Twitter that it’s going “to go bananas Friday night.”
“Stay tuned, it’s probably going to get weird,” the resort said.
The region is also expecting a significant amount of rain at lower elevations, with flood watches in effect from Friday morning through Saturday afternoon.
The greater Los Angeles area could see 2 to 4 inches of rain, Larson said, while a flood watch issued by the National Weather Service warned of rainfall rates up to an inch per hour, especially in the foothills and lower mountain locations.
Winter storm map
Elsewhere in the US
A large storm with coast-to-coast impacts should move out of the Northeast on Friday.
The weather is expected to move out of the Boston area in the early morning hours, with some mixed precipitation in parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
In Bangor, Maine, a winter weather advisory was in effect until noon Friday, with accumulations expected to reach between 4 and 7 inches.
Boston can expect highs approaching 40 degrees, with winds around 20 to 30 mph.