(The Center Square) – Southern California’s strongest storm of the season led to evacuation orders, mudslides and swift water but no apparent catastrophic damage Thursday.
It was a furious mix of rain and fast wind, with some gusts clocked at more than 70 mph, according to media reports. Higher elevations saw snow. The Mammoth Mountain ski area in Mono County received 3 feet of the white stuff.
Thursday’s rainfall in Los Angeles County varied from 1.5 to 3 inches, the National Weather Service reported. In downtown Los Angeles, 2.8 inches fell. San Gabriel and Morris dams and Crystal Lake saw around 5 inches. There was less than an inch of rain in cities in the county’s High Desert.
There were evacuation orders and warnings Thursday for residents in the Palisades Fire burn area in Los Angeles, the Eaton Fire burn area in Altadena in the Pasadena area, the Airport Fire burn area in Orange County, the Line Fire burn area in San Bernardino County and the Mountain Fire burn area in Ventura County.
By Friday morning, the storm had subsided in Southern California. The evacuations and rain were over. Patches of blue sky emerged from the clouds.
TV newscasts showed the cleanup of mud Friday in Malibu, where mudslides Thursday forced the closure of Pacific Coast Highway. It was the latest impact on a city devastated by the Palisades Fire.
The winds were powerful enough Thursday to push a Los Angeles Fire Department SUV traveling on PCH off the road, down a hill and on the beach, where the vehicle was partially submerged in a furious tide.
The driver was able to walk away, as seen in a video posted on the NBC Los Angeles website. His injuries were minor.
Mudslides also led to the closure of nearby Mulholland Drive in the hills of Los Angeles.
In San Juan Capistrano in Orange County, a man and woman were rescued from San Juan Creek after they were trapped in fast-moving water Friday morning. They were holding onto trees and bushes, according to reports that the Orange County Fire Authority received at 1:42 a.m. Friday.
Northern California also felt the impact of the storm. A blizzard continued Friday in the Sierra Nevada mountains, forcing the closure of highways and ski resorts.
Snow is expected to continue to linger in the Sierra Nevada through Sunday.
The San Francisco Bay Area saw between 2 and 3.5 inches of rain Thursday, said meteorologist Rachel Kennedy of the National Weather Service office in Monterey.
The Santa Cruz Mountains experienced an average of 5 to 6 inches, with some areas getting up to 8 inches, Kennedy told The Center Square Friday.
The National Weather Service received a number of reports of flooding, especially in the Bay Area and the Central Coast areas extending as far south as San Benito County, Kennedy said.
There was as much as 10 inches of rain in the Santa Lucia mountain range, she said.
On Friday, the rain in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Coast had become less frequent showers, Kennedy said.
High surf advisories remain in effect up and down the California coast.