Authored by Jamie Joseph through The Epoch Occasions (emphasis ours),

Massive Bear Mountain—house to certainly one of Southern California’s premiere ski resorts tucked within the San Bernardino Nationwide Forest—received extra snowfall this week than it usually receives in a 12 months, based on a spokesperson for the resort.

Through the week, snowfall exceeded greater than 100 inches—the retreat’s yearly common—resort spokesman Justin Kern informed The Epoch Occasions on Friday.

“We’ve handed that mark this week,” he mentioned.

The sudden deluge comes as Southern California faces its first blizzard warning since 1989, starting Feb. 23, for a lot of the area. Officers and resort personnel alike have been warning residents to not journey up the mountain till the advisory is ready to run out after the weekend.

Nevertheless, the resort remained open through the day on Friday with solely a cancellation of its evening operations.

Kern mentioned some roads heading up the mountain, like State Route 330, are closed off. Whereas different roads could also be open with traction necessities, like Freeway 38 to Mentone or Freeway 18 to Lucerne Valley, the resort is encouraging individuals to not come till the storm clears, particularly for the reason that common Californian is just not used to driving in this type of climate.

“Our main concern is simply ensuring that persons are touring to and from the mountain safely,” Kern mentioned. “This isn’t the time to begin studying the best way to drive within the snow.”

All autos, together with these with four-wheel drive and snow tires, will need to have chains, Kern mentioned.

In the meantime, on the mountain—which is projected to rise up to eight ft of snow from this storm—those that already had reservations within the city’s lodges might be seen snowboarding and snowboarding on Friday. The resort is maintaining a tally of robust gusts of wind, which may lead to ski elevate closures.

Moreover, the Bear Valley Unified Faculty District canceled lessons Thursday and Friday for “snow days,” attributable to hazardous driving situations.

A Uncommon Storm

The sudden snowfall comes as mountains in a number of counties—Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino, and Santa Barbara—all fell below blizzard warnings on Thursday. The Nationwide Climate Service warned these mountains would expertise “heavy snow, winds gusting as much as 80 mph, and close to zero visibility.”

Nationwide Climate Service meteorologist Andrew Orrison mentioned there’s a “distinctive mixture” of what’s inflicting this winter phenomenon throughout Southern California.

“It’s a mixture of it being a really chilly storm and it’s slow-moving, and due to it being slow-moving, it has time to usher in lots of moisture from the Pacific Ocean,” Orrison informed The Epoch Occasions. “And the persistence of that feed of moisture off the Pacific Ocean coupled with the truth that this can be a very chilly system is actually what’s driving the very heavy snowfall totals.”

The impacts of the storm, Orrison mentioned, are regarding to forecasters, because the ensuing blizzard situations shall be harmful and will doubtlessly trigger energy outages.

And whereas the blizzard warning is meant to finish by Saturday, there’s a chance it might be prolonged, he mentioned, as heavy snowfalls coupled with robust winds might be “close to hurricane drive.”

“It positively is an excessive occasion, due to the way in which this has come collectively,” he mentioned.

Shortly after midday on Friday, Vineland Avenue in North Hollywood adjoining to the Hollywood Burbank Airport was flooded, trapping no less than 5 automobiles. Subsequently, a flash flood warning was in impact by 10 p.m. Friday in inland elements of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Climate specialists warned earlier within the week that flooding was prone to happen.

“As a reminder, for those who see flooded roads, TURN AROUND, DON’T DROWN! You’ll be able to’t inform how deep the water is and also you (and your automobile) could be swept away,” the Nationwide Climate Service in LA wrote on Twitter Friday.

Orrison mentioned this storm system—what he calls an atmospheric disturbance—is completely different from typical winter storms in California, which are sometimes related to so-called atmospheric rivers. In contrast to these storms, this technique got here down from the north and is stronger, however colder. In consequence, snowfall is happening at decrease elevations and even in some valley areas, together with close to the Pacific coast.

One widespread state landmark at a decrease elevation that noticed mild snowfall yesterday morning was the 45-foot Hollywood signal, sitting at about 1,600 ft on the southern slope of Mount Lee within the Santa Monica Mountains.

It was a uncommon sight to see, Hollywood Signal Belief Chairman Jeff Zarrinnam informed The Epoch Occasions.

“I used to be shocked,” Zarrinnam mentioned. “I walked outdoors my door yesterday and I see snow on the bottom, and I mentioned, ‘Nicely, I’d higher make a snowball and take an image with the signal as a result of that by no means occurs.’”