Mt. Baldy could get 8 feet of snow this week
Mt. Baldy could likely get up to 8 feet of snow or more this week historic winter storm expected to dump rain and snow and bring high winds across Southern California.
Los Angeles County’s tallest peak is among the mountain peaks that could see its most extreme snowfall through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service, which issued a rare snowstorm warning for much of the region’s mountains on Friday and Saturday.
“The San Gabriels will definitely get the highest amounts of snow, especially in the eastern part,” said Carol Smith, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. She said specific totals for certain peaks, like Mt. Baldy, are difficult to estimate when forecasting the days out and the strong winds, but she expected up to 96 inches of snow there, if not more.
“There’s going to be a lot of snow, there’s going to be a lot of wind,” Smith said.
The Mt. Baldy Resort has already closed its slopes Wednesday and Thursday due to the weather, the resort said, although forecasters say the worst of the storm is unlikely to hit until Friday.
Snow accumulations in Southern California’s mountains are expected to fall between 6 and 12 inches between 2,000 and 4,000 feet elevation — including most major mountain passes, making travel difficult, the weather service warned.
At elevations over 4,000 feet, total snowfall is forecast to be between 2 and 5 feet, with isolated amounts up to 7 or 8 feet at higher elevations, such as Mt. Baldy.
The snowstorm warning for Friday and Saturday urged people to avoid mountain travel due to heavy snowfall, wind gusts of up to 75mph and “near zero visibility,” forecasters said.
“This is a significant winter storm and people really shouldn’t try to go there unless they’re overly prepared,” Smith said. She said the conditions will be treacherous and dangerous, with an increased risk of avalanches.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-22/mt-baldy-could-get-up-to-8-feet-of-snow-this-week Mt. Baldy could get 8 feet of snow this week
