Rain this weekend could complicate cleanup in Southern California’s snow-buried mountain towns
Southern California will see wet and cold weather return this weekend, forecasters said, which could lead to more hazards for the region’s mountain towns already hit hard with historic amounts of snow.
The National Weather Service in San Diego said the snowfall will not be nearly as intense as last week when some communities were, quite literally, buried under feet of powder.
But the fact that any amount of precipitation will return to these areas could lead to complications for the ongoing rescue efforts of those residents still trapped or assessing the damage to their homes.
On Friday, Snow is likely to fall only above 9,000 feet, well above communities like Wrightwood in the San Gabriel Mountains, Crestline and Running Springs in the San Bernardino Mountains.
By Saturday morning, the snow could fall as low as 8,000 feet, still high enough to miss residential areas, said Stefanie Sullivan, an NWS meteorologist in San Diego.
At lower elevations, however, the precipitation will come down as rain: Across most areas of the San Bernardino Mountains, the NWS said anywhere from three-fourths of an inch to one and a half inches were expected Friday and Saturday.
More water falling on these regions could bring anything from just nuisance flooding to more roofs caving in.
“We’re concerned more about the water getting into the snowpack that’s already there and adding additional weight,” Sullivan said.
“(Roofs caving in) is definitely a concern — I know there’s already been problems with that with all the snow.”
The rain could make traversing roads up in the mountains difficult again, but there should not be any major hazards: Sullivan said most likely the rain would bring small rock slides and minor flooding. Large debris and mud flows were unlikely, she said.
For the rest of the region, including most metro areas of Los Angeles and Orange counties, most residents will only see about a half inch to three-fourths of an inch of rain. Rain could be even slighter in most valley areas of the Inland Empire, with as little as a quarter of an inch expected to fall.
The sheriff of San Bernardino County said 13 people were found dead in mountain towns where snow fell hardest over the last two weeks.
Sheriff Shannon Dicus said the coroner’s office was still investigating how all those people died. Many of the dead were elderly and apparently lived alone. In brief summaries of those deaths, the Sheriff’s Department said Thursday among nine cases, eight were of people found dead inside their homes. They ranged in age from 33 to 93. Among the eight, all were found between Feb. 28 and March 8.
A ninth death of a 39-year-old woman was attributed to a car crash near Bear Valley Community Hospital on Feb. 26.
There was no information about the others found dead, according to Dicus’ count.
It’s not clear exactly how the people who died were found. Many other residents had to be dug out from their homes as emergency crews attempted to get to them with snow plows and other equipment.