Jan 18, 2007 7:10 am US/Pacific
Los Angeles Has A Snow Day
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Children from nearby Agoura Hills and Newbury Park rushed to play with the impromptu snow along Kanan Dume Road in Malibu.
CBS
Jack Frost visited the Southland again Wednesday, bringing rain, snow, hail and ice and prompting the National Weather Service to issue winter-weather advisories for local mountains and the Antelope Valley, where driving was particularly treacherous.
"We're at the mercy of Mother Nature," said California Highway Patrol Officer Francisco Villalobos.
The northbound Golden State (5) Freeway was closed at Parker Road about 8:40 a.m. due to snow and ice on the
section of the heavily traveld route popularly known as the Grapevine, according to the CHP.
Southbound lanes were closed at Laval Road, Villalobos said. The closure was continuing early Wednesday afternoon, with no estimate of its duration.
CHP Officer George White said about three inches of snow accumulated on the freeway, with a layer of ice underneath, causing a number of car and truck spinouts near the Pyramid Lake area.
"There's multiple cars that have spun out, big rigs, several jack-knifes. So, until we can get it cleared up, it's probably going to be later on this afternoon or evening, I would assume," White said.
South of Pyramid Lake, in the Santa Clarita area, drivers were contending with hail and slushy snow.
"It was just enough to stick, like flurries," said sheriff's Lt. Diane Walker of the Santa Clarita Station.
Ernest Eckhardt thought he could make it through the snow, but realized the driving conditions were too dangerous.
"It was kind of rainy and it turned to sleet and I thought, well, I'm from the Midwest, I can go. But then it turned bad quickly," Eckhardt said. "It dropped so much snow, and frozen water on the road ... and the snow on top of it just made it too slick."
In other parts of the county, including West Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, rain and chilly temperatures also made for a gloomy morning and resulted in a slight increase in the number of freeway accidents, according
to the CHP.
According to the National Weather Service, a cold upper low will continue to move south over southwestern California Wednesday, bringing scattered shower activity to the area.
"A very cold air mass is expected to remain across the mountain areas, Antelope Valley and interior sections of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties today," the NWS reported.
Meteorologists said the mix of cold air and showers would produce dangerous winter-weather conditions, including icy roadways, across the advisory areas.
The NWS urged drivers to be prepared for icy spots on roadways, noting that bridges and overpasses were most likely to be icy. Forecasters advised motorists who encounter icy conditions to avoid making sudden movements, which may cause them to lose control of their vehicle.
The winter-weather advisories were to remain in effect until 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.
It was another bone-chilling night throughout the Southland. The mercury fell to 14 degrees in Palmdale overnight and dropped to 8 degrees in Lancaster, according to Stuart Seto of the NWS.
In the San Fernando Valley, the lowest overnight temperature in Van Nuys was 35 degrees, with the mercury falling to 29 degrees in Woodland Hills, he said.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
SLIDESHOW: Snow Falls On The Southland
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