ON VIDEO – Los Angeles County, California was covered in a blanket of snow this weekend following an unusual weather event in that region of the United States.
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published on 02/27/2023 at 12:57 p.m
Heavy snow fell in Southern California on Friday, February 24, the aftermath of a rare snowstorm around Los Angeles, and heavy rains threatened other areas with flooding. The region, known for its sunshine and palm trees, is experiencing one of the worst winter storms in decades.
Some major highways were closed due to frost and snow, such as B. Sections of the highway connecting Mexico, the United States and Canada with no immediate prospect of reopening. In the mountains, where the wind could blow violently, the snowflakes should be legion. Snow and wind have already beaten power lines and drained 100,000 homes in California, according to specialist website Poweroutage. Even valleys “not used to snow” could be shrouded in a white mantle, according to the US Weather Service (NWS).
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The “Hollywood” sign under the snow
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To illustrate the unusual nature of this blizzard, local weather presenters, who normally announce day-to-day sunshine, faced cameras knee-deep in snow on Friday. On social media, everyone went there with their photo of a garden covered in snowflakes… a vision so rare that the Weather Service shared a tutorial.
“Wondering what is this frozen precipitation falling from the sky near you (if you are in the mountains)?” the Los Angeles NWS tweeted, attaching a graphic to their message to distinguish snow pellets from hail. The first, soft and wet, is made of flakes while the second, harder, is made of ice, the agency explained. A few flakes have even sprinkled the ultra-famous Hollywood sign… but experts say that “snow,” even if it dampens enthusiasm, could be just plain hailstones.
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4000 delayed flights
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The snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains behind palm trees in Los Angeles on February 26th. MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP
While not everyone will find themselves under the snow, Californians living at low elevations could experience downpours that pose a risk of flooding and mudslides. A flood watch was in place for parts of Los Angeles County and nearby Ventura and Santa Barbara counties on the Pacific coast. The state was hit by a series of deadly storms from late December through mid-January.
This very wintry weather isn’t unique to California: Still in the American West, but farther north, Wyoming had roads closed and Oregon had record snowfalls. According to the local weather service, the city of Portland experienced the second snowiest day in its history with more than 27 cm of precipitation. What to bring the chaos in the air. More than 340 domestic flights to or from the United States were canceled as of Friday afternoon and more than 4,000 were delayed.
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The town of Acton, 50 km north of Los Angeles, on Sunday February 26th. MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP
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While it’s difficult to establish a direct link between this storm and climate change, scientists regularly state that warming is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. For Daniel Swain, a climatologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, global warming has changed the nature of winter precipitation in the region. “In the 1940s, there was heavy snowfall in Los Angeles, and of course that seems unthinkable today,” he explained. Because the climate is warmer today, it’s “less likely” to see snowflakes at low altitudes, he concludes.
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