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From White Out to Wipeouts: Wild Winds, Snow, and "Very large surf" Hitting SoCal This Weekend
Photo by chickpokipsie via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
If you've got some reading to catch up on or a couple of movies you'd like to see, this might be the weekend to hide out between four walls and avoid the blustery elements. Even though spring has sprung, SoCal is about to get pelted with some wild winds, snow in the mountains, and dangerously high surf at our shores. Be warned!
We have a fast-moving storm system to thank for our predicted weather woes. The National Weather Service says the snow is headed to the northern slopes of the Ventura and Western Los Angeles County mountains Saturday night through Sunday Morning, and the snow level will lower to between 3500 to 4500 feet by Saturday night.
Skiiers and snowboarders might relish the news, but for drivers headed up the I-5 through the Grapevine, this means icy conditions and blowing snow--possible white-out conditions.
The SoCal shores are going to get a major pounding and our waters will be swirling with dangerous rip currents, thanks to some "very large surf."
Waterbabies, beware, says the NWS:
Initially Saturday morning a 3 to 4 foot southerly swell with a long period of 19 seconds will bring surf between 5 to 7 feet with locally higher sets to south facing beaches of Los Angeles and Ventura counties with the highest surf possible at Malibu and Zuma beaches. By Saturday night a much larger west to northwest swell will over-run the southerly swell and bring very large surf to northwest to west facing beaches from the Central Coast down to Los Angeles County. There will be the potential for high surf between 12 to 18 feet with local sets to 23 feet affecting the central coast with high surf between 7 to 12 feet with local sets to 18 feet for the west facing beaches of los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Right now, temps are expected to peak in the low 60s at the beaches, low 70s in the city, and upper 70s in the Palmdale area. Tomorrow, temps will be at the low 60s at the beaches, upper 60s in the city, and the low 70s in the Palmdale area. The NWS has a complete local forecast.
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