Powerful Winter Storm Drenches Belmont Shore With More To Come

LOS ANGELES, CA — Winter came in with a bang Sunday, bringing more rain and snow than expected to Southern California, toppling trees and flooding freeways.

The storm started off light Sunday but by nightfall, heavy rain fell across the Los Angeles region, triggering freeway flooding and forcing the closure of the Harbor (110) Freeway, shutting down Malibu Canyon Road for hours, prompting flood warnings in burn areas, and toppling a massive tree onto a man in Echo Park. Winter road conditions are official in effect for holiday travel.

The storm is expected to ease up Monday before another bout of heavy rainfall in the afternoon. Another more powerful storm out of the Gulf of Alaska is expected to move in Christmas morning, dropping the snow level and making for a white Christmas in the mountains around LA.

National Weather Service meteorologists reported moderate to locally heavy rain over the Sepulveda Pass including the Getty Burn Area and across southern L.A. County including Rolling Hills and Redondo Beach.

A Flood Advisory was in effect until 3 a.m. for Los Angeles County, with highest rainfall rates between .50 inches to .80 inches and significant roadway flooding across portions of the San Fernando Valley and Palos Verdes Peninsula.

A SigAlert was issued about 1:15 a.m. shutting down the Burbank Boulevard onramp to the westbound Ventura (134) Freeway due to flooding. The SigAlert was cancelled about 2:20 a.m. Flooding was also reported on the transition road from the eastbound Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway to the southbound San Diego (405) Freeway.

Malibu Canyon Road was shut down about 5 1/2 hours Sunday night through early morning just south of the Malibu Canyon Tunnel due to a mud and rock slide caused by rain.

Accumulations could reach 1- 1/4 inches in the LA Basin with more in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, NWS Meteorologist Carol Smith said.

Mountains could receive up to 1 1/2 inches of rain with 2-6 inches of snow from 5,000 to 7,000 foot elevations and 6-12 inches above 7,000 feet, Smith said.

The rain was forecast to taper off to showers in the afternoon with a chance of thunderstorms that could produce small hailstones.

High temperatures along the coast were forecast to be in the mid-50s to about 60, with lows in the mid-40s to around 50. Inland and valley temperatures were expected in the low to mid-50s with lows in the low to mid- 40s. There was a slight chance of showers after midnight.

A cold air mass is expected to move over the area Wednesday leading to a colder rain storm and lower snow level, she said.

There is a chance that rain will begin Wednesday morning, but it is more likely to start Wednesday afternoon and continue into Thursday, Smith said.

The snow level could drop to 4,000 feet or lower from this storm and accumulations of rain and snow could be similar to the current storm, she said.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.