SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 1 (UPI) — A strong Pacific storm battered Southern California with high winds Sunday, killing one man and leaving 150,000 without power.
An 80-foot tall tree fell and smashed a car, killing the driver in San Diego, while high winds sometimes more than 100 mph whipped the region, from the mountains north of Los Angeles to San Diego, knocking down power lines. Heavy rain flooded some streets and brought up to six inches of snow in the mountains.
Winds were high enough to cause flight problems at Los Angeles International Airport. Though the rain was moderate, just more than an inch, winds blew 115 mph north of Los Angeles and 61 mph in Beverly Hills.
About 41,000 lost power at some point during the day in Los Angeles, fallen trees and power lines blocking a freeway in the city and and a highway in the desert east of Los Angeles.
Heavy rain fell on Santa Barbara up to one inch an hour Sunday morning.
But the storm was great news for the Big Bear ski resort, east of town, where between 9 inches and 13 inches fell.
“With the weather we’ve gotten this season, and the lack of snow the past few years, people are definitely excited to come up here and take advantage of the awesome conditions,” Clayton Shoemaker, marketing director for Big Bear Mountain Resorts told the L.A. Times.
