A cold spring storm brought wind, rain and rare May snow to Southern California, where flooded roads slowed traffic and weather conditions forced school closures in mountain communities.
The cold, winter-like storm system out of British Columbia brought thunderstorms to the Los Angeles area and the threat of showers through Friday evening. Overnight Friday there was rain in Huntington Beach, hail in Diamond Bar and snow in the San Bernardino Mountains.
Lightning was blamed for a power outage that affected some 7,641 customers in Bell, while the 105 Freeway sustained flooding near Los Angeles International Airport. In addition, SoCal Edison said around 2,348 San Bernardino County customers are experiencing outages due to weather conditions. Most power is expected to return by 11 a.m. Friday.
All Rim of the World Unified School District schools, which are located in Lake Arrowhead, are closed Friday due to the weather.
Light rain was falling at Los Angeles International Airport and portions of the Westside, including Santa Monica, beginning at 7 p.m. In downtown Los Angeles many were caught off-guard by the suddent downpour.
"I don't own any rain boots, no umbrella, none of that. Just this hoodie," a local named Kay said, "I texted my friend and I was like is it raining right now and he was like no it doesn't look like it then I get outside and before you know it is."
According to the National Weather Service, in LA County Whittier got the most rain through 5 a.m, with 0.62 inches. Downtown LA got 0.21 inches, Pomona 0.40, LAX 9.20 and Lancaster 0.19. In Ventura Lake Piru got the most with 0.27 inches, Nordhoff Ridge got 0.24, Ojai got 0.14, Oxnard got 0.02 and Simi Valley got 0.03.
At the University of Southern California, one student said the weather was putting her off preparing for her exams.
"(It's) definitely different, like it never rains. I'm kind of freaking with the lighting and we've got to do our finals now..
But the rain could continue, and If thunderstorms materialize, they'll be capable of producing heavy downpours and small hail, according to the National Weather Service. It also said thunderstorms could affect Friday's rush-hour commutes.
Conditions will also favor isolated waterspouts in coastal waters, the statement said. Gusty southwesterly winds in the Antelope Valley were also expected, with gusts of around 45 mph expected. A wind advisory was in effect in the Antelope Valley until 9 p.m. and isolated gusts of 45 mph were also possible in some mountain areas.
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If thunderstorms develop, a half-inch of rain may result in certain areas, and minor mud and debris flows could occur in burn areas, it said. In the San Gabriel Mountains, the snow level was expected to fall to 5,000 feet by Friday morning, and several inches of snow was possible above 6,000 feet through Friday evening, according to the NWS.
Snow was falling Friday night in the Wrightwood area along the Los Angeles-San Bernardino county line.
City News Service contributed to this article
