Cold Winter Storm Rolls Through the Southland

A cold winter storm brought the Southland showers, including a record-tying amount for a March 8 at Long Beach Airport, high winds and snow Friday, along with lightning strikes, one of which sparked a fire in Mar Vista, and a spike in crashes on Southland roadways.

The morning commute was wet, sloppy, and dangerous for some, but sunny weather and higher temperatures -- eight degrees in some places -- were forecast for Saturday.

A winter storm warning, meaning significant amounts of snow, sleet and ice are expected or are occurring, will be in effect until 10 p.m. in the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County.

Between six and 10 inches of snow had fallen about in the San Gabriel Mountains above 5,000 feet as of 8 p.m. with lighter accumulations down to 3,000 feet, according to the National Weather Service.

The Golden State (5) Freeway was closed through The Grapevine overnight due to snow and icy road conditions but was reopened in the morning.

Also closed were Angeles Forest Highway between Aliso Canyon Road and Angeles Crest Highway, also known as state Route 2, and Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road from Angeles Forest Highway to Angeles Crest Highway. The Angeles National Forest roads were to remained closed until they've been checked and deemed safe, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

The Tejon Pass on the Golden State (5) Freeway and the Soledad Pass on the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway could be impacted by snow showers through this evening, according to the National Weather Service.

Rainfall totals in the 24-hour period ending 4 p.m. included 1.17 inches in Pasadena, 1.07 inches in Woodland Hills, 1.04 inches in Northridge, .96 of an inch in Redondo Beach, .95 of an inch in Chatsworth, .92 of an inch in Van Nuys, .85 of an inch at UCLA and .81 at the Long Beach Airport, tying the mark for March 8 set in 1975.

In Mar Vista, a fire broke out shortly after 1 a.m. in the attic of a single-story home at 3445 S. Moore St. A neighbor reported seeing a bolt of lighting spark the noninjury fire, and the weather service confirmed there was a lightning strike in the area at the time.

On the roads, a motorist was killed when his car slammed into a tree in the 2900 block of rain-slick West MacArthur Boulevard in Santa Ana, police said. In Wilmington, three people were critically injured when their vehicle  overturned outside 1233 N. Neptune Ave., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

California Highway Patrol Officer Ming Hsu said that between midnight and 9 a.m. Friday, there were 312 reports of accidents on Los Angeles freeways and other L.A. County roads patrolled by the CHP. A week ago during that same time period, when it did not rain, there were 83 reports of accidents, he said.

Highs reached 60 in downtown Los Angeles, 59 in Culver City, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach and 58 in Chatsworth, Long Beach Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Santa Monica Airport and Torrance.