As the cold snap continues, snow is falling in places such as Grapevine. The freezing temperatures are caused by a polar vortex that has been moving south and will continue to do so until mid-February.
(CBSLA) – LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The Grapevine received snow Wednesday morning as the area was slammed by the coldest storm of the winter season, with temperatures in the 30s and 40s.
The Grapevine is covered with snow. The date is February 23, 2022. (CBSLA)
Overnight, snow flakes fell on the 5 Freeway in Grapevine, while Caltrans employees sprayed sand on slippery portions of the road and the California Highway Patrol led traffic through the region. By 7 a.m., however, snow and ice had caused the closing of both sides of the Tejon Pass roadway.
“I don’t want to risk it,” said Brandon Chewning, a refrigerator repairman who was on his way to Buttonwillow but chose to turn around due to the snow.
CHP started guiding large groups of automobiles through the Grapevine just before noon, and authorities told CBSLA it might reopen in both directions shortly.
CHP Officer Joe Phipps told CBSLA that “they had approximately six plow trucks out, treated north and southbound from about Fort Tejon to about halfway down the hill.” “That enabled us to keep traffic flowing slowly, and it kept the pavement warm, but they check the pavement temperature to make sure it doesn’t reach to the point where we have ice conditions.” We were able to keep it open by working with Caltrans and the public driving slowly.”
Drivers were also advised not to use back roads during the shutdown, according to officials.
“Please don’t listen to the apps that encourage you to use back roads,” CHP Sgt. Joe Phipps told CBSLA. “We have a lot of automobiles caught in the mountains right now attempting to get around the closures, and that is an issue every time we close down the highway.”
Snow flakes were also seen in Wrightwood, in the San Gabriel Mountains, on Wednesday, with Caltrans employees attempting to keep the Angeles Crest Highway clean.
“That massive low-pressure system that’s giving us this bitterly cold winter weather is still hanging above, pushing in some energy, and so we’ll see a little bit more of this activity and scattered showers this morning,” CBS2 Meteorologist Amber Lee said.
In the Los Angeles County Mountains and the Antelope Valley, a winter weather advisory was lifted at noon on Wednesday. Snow accumulations of up to 3 inches are expected in the mountains, with up to 5 inches likely in certain isolated places with snow levels dropping as low as 2,000 feet, according to forecasters. Winds blowing up to 45 miles per hour accompanied the snowy weather.
According to the National Weather Service, “this will be the coldest storm we’ve experienced so far this winter season, with the possibility for extensive snow/ice effects throughout several of our lower mountain passes, which may make for challenging travel with probable delays or road closures.”
The San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, as well as the coastal area spanning into downtown Los Angeles, were under a wind warning until 6 p.m.
In Orange County, a wind warning was in force until 6 p.m. for coastal and inland regions, while a winter weather advisory was in effect in the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills until midday Wednesday.
On Thursday, forecasters predict drier weather, as well as a minor warming trend that will linger until the weekend.
(CBS Broadcasting Inc., Copyright 2022, All Rights Reserved.) This article was written with the help of City News Service.)
