Today’s much-hyped storm has slugged Southern California with its first fierce wave — dousing the region, postponing events, snarling traffic and cancelling commercial flights.
Just after 10 a.m., the National Weather Service reported that rainfall amounts are approaching half an inch in Canoga Park, Agoura Hills and much of the San Fernando Valley, and in the Los Angeles County mountains.
In perhaps a preview of what is to come in Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire, amounts had surpassed 2 inches in Santa Barbara County and reached 3.41 inches at San Marcos Pass.
Dozens of flights were delayed or canceled Friday at Los Angeles International Airport.
It’s not clear exactly how many flights were called off, but United Airlines canceled 10 flights into and out of the airport, and American Airlines reported another 11 canceled by that carrier. Statewide, Southwest Airlines has canceled roughly 250 flights, including several at LAX.
In Long Beach, American Airlines canceled two out of its three scheduled departures. The airport, however, appeared to be less impacted by the weather than others, according to flightstats.com, a flight tracking website.
In Orange County, several airlines canceled flights out of John Wayne Airport. A representative from American Airlines, which canceled 12 flights out of the airport, said John Wayne is expected to be impacted most by the weather because of its shorter runways and strong crosswinds in the area.
Passengers on United Airlines flights traveling Friday or Saturday will be allowed to alter their flight plans without a charge in certain cities, said Maddie King, a spokeswoman for the airline. A list of cities is available here. Southwest and American airlines have a similar arrangement for travelers impacted by the storm.
Airport officials recommend that travelers contact their airlines to stay up to date on flight statuses, and leave extra time to get to and from the airport Friday.
“In the state of California, we’ve proactively canceled more than 250 flights and expect the number to stay around there for today,” a spokesperson for Southwest said via email.
Elsewhere, many were bracing for the impact.
Mudslides and urban flooding are anticipated throughout the region. And the foothill community of Duarte ordered a precautionary evacuation of some homes.
Horse racing at Santa Anita Park near Pasadena and Los Alamitos Race Course at Cypress was canceled.
Pasadena called off Saturday’s annual Black History Month parade, citing public safety concerns, including possible lightning strikes.
Golfers at the PGA tour’s annual stop at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades were resigning themselves to getting in only a few holes before the storm hit.
Knott’s Berry Farm was closed Friday in anticipation of heavy rains and wind, while Disneyland remained open as of mid-day.
Disney officials said they were monitoring the storm. Disneyland closed a few hours early during the Jan. 22 rain storm, with certain parts of Disneyland flooding. There have been other cases in the past that heavy rains forced the Anaheim theme park to close early.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works warned of possible debris and mud flow potential forecast in the Sand fire area of the Angeles National Forest, in Pacoima and Little Tujunga Canyons. The department said the Santa Clarita also is vulnerable.
In Orange County, lifeguards planned to closely watch the Seal Beach pier to determine whether it will need to close at some point.
Areas up and down the coast were bracing for waves forecast to reach 9 feet Friday and 15 feet on Saturday.
In the San Bernardino Mountains, Snow Valley Mountain Resort near Running Springs decided not to operate five chair lifts over concerns about wind, spokesman John Brice said. And the resort cancelled night skiing in the face of possibly being buried by 29 inches of snow.
“The storm has started moving in and it’s snowing at Snow Valley,” Brice said. “We’re also experiencing gusty winds.”
In some areas, rain was falling modestly in late morning. But skies were dark with monster potential. And on virtually everyone’s minds were those crazy numbers we’ve been hearing: 2 to 6 inches of rain in coastal and valley areas, 5 to 10 inches in foothils and mountains, and up to 3 feet of snow above 8,000 feet.
“It looks ominous,” said Bill Patzert, climate scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
“It’s a pattern that we’ve seen pretty much since the beginning of the year, where you have a strong polar jet stream swooping out of the North Pacific,” Patzert said. “And what it’s doing is dragging a low pressure system. It’s pretty intense and it’s definitely taking aim at the Southland.”
And it’s clashing with a Pineapple Express-style plume of moisture barreling in from the west.
“It’s another one of these atmospheric river events that originates in the subtropics at about Hawaii,” Patzert said.
The result? Copious rainfall. Crazy wind. Crippling snowfall.
“It’s definitely not like ‘Singing in the Rain’ with Gene Kelly,” Patzert said.
No, it’s not the work of El Niño, which turned out to be a bust last winter – at least for the southern part of the state. And the dry La Niña we thought was coming but fizzled out isn’t holding the moisture back, Patzert said.
The absence of both, he said, “has really opened the door for these cold storm events coming out of the north colliding with atmospheric rivers. It’s this type of set-up that has brought some of our wettest winters.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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