Showers and snow are possible through Friday evening as winter storm warnings remain in effect for much of the region after a morning of intense rain in Los Angeles and sigificant snowfall in mountain communities to the east.
Radar showed scattered showers moving across the region early Friday afternoon -- the remnants of a storm system that produced heavy downpours and snow that prompted an overnight closure on the 5 Freeway north of Los Angeles. The road reopened Friday morning after the six-hour closure.
Weather Page: Interactive Radar | Send Us Your Weather Photos | Download Our Weather App | Viewer Weather Photos
Winter storm warnings remain in effect through Friday for Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.
"We're still dealing with a lot of rain showers off the coast that will continue to wrap around and hit Southern California," said NBC4 forecaster Elita Loresca. "There's still a chance for wet weather this afternoon, but we're going to see some improvement during the overnight hours."
The cold system arrived in Southern California late Thursday, generating showers and thunderstorms. In Mar Vista, a lightning strike might have started a house fire that was contained to the attic.
At about 10 a.m., scattered showers and hail were reported in the San Fernando Valley. Radar showed a wide band of showers moving over Santa Catalina Island and into the Huntington Beach area. That system formed pockets of rain that stretched from Santa Barbara to San Diego late Friday morning.
Low snow levels -- snow was reported at 3,000 feet -- led to mountain road closures in the Angeles National Forest. Angeles Forest Highway is closed from Aliso Canyon Road to Angeles Crest Highway. Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road is closed from Angeles Forest Highway to Angeles Crest Highway.
All schools in the Rim of the World School District are closed because of the weather.
Temperatures will remain below normal Friday. Expect temperatures in the mid-60s for most of the region Saturday. Mountain communities will see readings in the high-30s.
Temperatures might climb by about 10 degrees Sunday.
Morning Traffic Problems
Several solo-vehicle spinouts and crashes were reported early Friday before the height of the morning drive. Between midnight and 9 a.m. Friday, there were 312 reports of incidents on Los Angeles freeways and other LA County roads patrolled by the CHP. A week ago during that same time period, when it did not rain, there were 83 reports.
A car ended up facing the wrong way on a center divider on the southbound 101 Freeway transition to the eastbound 10 Freeway. Crews removed the vehicle before 7 a.m.
Seven vehicles were involved in a crash Friday morning on the northbound 605 Freeway between the 5 Freeway and Telegraph Road in Santa Fe Springs.
Lanes were blocked because of an overturned car on the southbound 110 Freeway between Marmion Way and Avenue 60 in Highland Park. Near Griffith Park, a big rig crash at about 4 a.m. closed two lanes on the northbound 5 Freeway just north of the 134 Freeway interchange.