85,000 households and businesses were without power in the Los Angeles area as winter storm pummels California
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- Approximately 85,000 homes and businesses across Los Angeles lost power on Saturday
- Rain and snowstorms hit parts of Southern California.
- Thunderstorms, hurricane-force winds, and possible tornadoes are predicted for other US regions.
Approximately 85,000 homes and businesses across Los Angeles lost power on Saturday as rain and snowstorms hit Southern California, Reuters reports.
The storm has taken hold of much of Southern California. Floods and rare snowfall have closed highways and interstates.
—Caltrans District 9 (@Caltrans9) February 26, 2023
On Friday, rare snowfall was seen swirling around the iconic Hollywood sign in LA.
Snow also hit the foothills of California's central coast and the San Francisco Bay area. Sarah McCorkle, an NWS meteorologist in Monterey, California, told ABC that "the last time we saw snow like this in the low elevations was in 2011."
The National Weather Service (NWS) has said that heavy snow is also set to fall in Northern and Central California mountains at more than two inches per hour.
Californians have been told to limit travel amid the dangerous storms, which are expected to continue throughout Sunday, where wind speeds of up to 50 miles per hour are predicted, Reuters reports.
Other parts of the US are also being disrupted by powerful storms, with the NWS warning of thunderstorms, hurricane-force winds, and possible tornadoes across much of Oklahoma, northwest Texas, and the Eastern Panhandle.
US Plains, Midwest, and Great Lakes regions have already faced difficult weather conditions this week, with Michigan seeing 820,000 people losing power as it was hit by ice storms, Sky News reports.
The news site reported that a fireman died on Wednesday when he came into contact with a drowned powerline in Paw Paw, southwest Michigan.
Over 2,000 flights have been canceled across the USA as a result of the extreme weather, with over 14,000 delayed, per Sky News.