Storm brings rain and snow to Southern California as rockfall closes Yosemite entrance

Alexandra E. Petri
·4 min read
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LONG BEACH, CALIF. - DEC. 12, 2022. A December storm drifts over Seal Beach, bringing inclement weather to the Southland, including rain in urban areas and snow on local mountains on Monday, Dec. 12, 2022.. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
A December storm drifts over Seal Beach, bringing inclement weather to the Southland, including rain in urban areas and snow on local mountains. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

A winter storm that broke rainfall records over the weekend continued to move across California on Monday, bringing additional rain to the Southland and snow to mountains across the state, leading to weather advisories and dangerous roadway conditions.

After the first wave of the storm over the weekend, widespread showers and possible thunderstorms were expected through Monday morning before tapering off in the early afternoon. Additional rainfall amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch were expected through Monday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service bureau in Oxnard. The foothills and valley mountain areas could see up to three-quarters of an inch, the weather service said.

As the storm continued, a rockfall shut down one of the entrances to Yosemite National Park.

Big Oak Flat Road, a continuation of Highway 120 from Manteca, was closed between Foresta junction and Yosemite Valley, park officials said. The road may be closed for several days, and there is no access to the valley on Highway 120 from the west.

Highways 140 and 41 to Yosemite are open, officials said, and drivers looking to enter Yosemite should call (209) 372-0200 for road conditions.

The storm did not break any rainfall records Monday, but meteorologists noted that widespread rain Sunday broke records for the date in several cities.

Hollywood Burbank Airport saw 1.21 inches of rain on Sunday, breaking the previous record of 1.09 inches set in 1996, according to the weather service. Lancaster saw 0.46 inches, breaking the previous record of 0.16 inches set in 1993. And Anaheim, with 1.33 inches, broke its 1994 record of 0.94 inches.

The cold air is also bringing snow to the mountains, including at lower elevations. Weather experts predict 1 to 4 inches of snow as low as 3,000 feet, and about 4 to 8 inches above 5,000 feet.

Up to 2 inches of snow is predicted for the Grapevine and Antelope Valley foothills. Powder was already starting to stick on the Tejon Pass and Grapevine area along Interstate 5 early Monday, the weather service said.

The weather service issued a winter storm warning until 10 p.m. Monday for the San Bernardino County and Riverside County mountains above 5,000 feet. A winter weather advisory was in effect earlier Monday in the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills, where 1 to 6 inches of snow is expected above 4,000 feet, with snowfall possible as low as around 2,500 feet.

Snow in the Santa Ana Mountains is not a typical feature of “every storm,” said Casey Oswant, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego, who added that “some webcams at Santiago Peak [show] snow on the ground.”

Mt. Wilson recorded 2 inches of snow as of Monday morning, weather experts said. Other snowfall totals include Snow Valley, with about 10 to 12 inches; Mountain High and Sugarloaf, each recording 5 inches; and Descanso with 1 inch, according to the National Weather Service in San Diego.

The weather service has also issued a frost advisory from 2 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday because of freezing temperatures expected in the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys, the inland Central Coast in Santa Barbara County, Lake Casitas, central and southeastern Ventura County valleys, and the Santa Ynez and Ojai valleys.

Video from OnScene.TV early Sunday morning showed fresh powder accumulating along Highway 18 from Running Springs to Big Bear, where a large tour bus' tire chains broke off and several other drivers, some with chains improperly installed or no chains at all, became stuck in the snow.

The Orange County Fire Authority responded to calls for a water rescue at the Santa Ana River at Orangewood on Sunday morning, where a man was found in the riverbed at Memory Lane, the OCFA said on Twitter. The man was pulled to safety and taken to a hospital.

Anaheim Fire and Rescue said it responded to a call at 12:30 p.m. Sunday reporting a body in the river channel in the 700 block of Loara Avenue. A man in his 30s was declared dead at the scene, said Sgt. Shane Carringer, a spokesperson for Anaheim Fire. Authorities said there are no obvious signs the death was a homicide.

Times staff writer Gregory Yee contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.