A rare blizzard warning remains in effect for parts of Southern California – including the Los Angeles region – Saturday as some areas endure heavy snow and record rainfall that has delivered dangerous flooding.

An onset of severe weather across the West Coast has spawned unfamiliar wintry conditions at higher elevations, particularly over mountainous areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, where up to a foot of snow may pair with 80 mph winds, the National Weather Service said.

Blizzard warnings are set to continue through Saturday afternoon. The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office had not issued a blizzard warning since 1989.

At the same time, torrential rain is expected to continue lashing the Los Angeles metro area Saturday after the area experienced flooding a day prior.

“A cold, strong, and potentially dangerous winter storm will bring periods of heavy rain and mountain snow with gusty southerly winds to most of Southwest California through Saturday,” according to the weather service.

The Hollywood sign is seen through a mix of fog and dust snow during a rare cold winter storm in Los Angeles, California, on February 24, 2023.

Aude Guerrucci/Reuters

The threat of lightning strikes has prompted officials to close all beaches in Los Angeles County to the public, according to an announcement on Saturday by the Lifeguard Division of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. A storm system moving through the area has caused road flooding, including temporary closures of portions of Interstate 5 in Southern California.

The warning comes as this week’s severe weather across the state triggered numerous power outages, which persisted for more than 100,000 homes and businesses in several counties early Saturday as temperatures are expected to plummet, with Northern California possibly seeing below-freezing temperatures.

By Friday, snow had already coated the Santa Cruz Mountains, a sight that was a surprise to resident Ngugi Kihara.

“(We’ve) never seen this much snow up here,” Kihara told CNN on Friday. “We woke up to it. It started yesterday but picked up a lot overnight. Lots of trees are falling and all the roads around us are closed. Power is out and has been mostly gone since Tuesday.”

And the threat of even more power outages persists Saturday, the National Weather Service said.

The heavy snow and strong winds can ultimately result in near zero visibility for those in the area, even when snow stops falling because high winds can blow the flakes off the ground. Weather alerts have urged extreme caution when traveling.

High elevations at Big Bear Lake in Southern California saw between 20 to 40 inches of snow over the course of three days as of Friday evening, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The agency also reported that many vehicles were stuck Friday morning, prompting state officials to close roads.

In addition to the snow, some Los Angeles-area roads turned into rivers on Friday after bouts of heavy rain, prompting the weather service to issue a flash flood warning.

Motorists and vehicles were seen stranded after water levels rose and some roads became impassable.

During the late night hours, a flash flood warning remained for around 1 million people in Los Angeles, Glendale and Santa Clarita through Saturday morning.

A resident walks to a restaurant during a storm in Mount Baldy, California, on Friday.

Eric Thayer/Bloomberg/Getty Images

California to see more rain this weekend

Heavy rainfall is expected to continue through the weekend over areas at lower elevations as overnight flash flooding was ongoing north and west of Los Angeles, the Weather Prediction Center said early Saturday.

The region can expect widespread rainfall of 2 to 4 inches Saturday, likely leading to flooding problems in areas south and east of Los Angeles, the prediction center added.

San Diego is also forecast to receive up to 2.5 inches of precipitation, and portions of southwestern California remain in a flood watch through Saturday evening.

Saturday’s rain will hit already soaked grounds, exacerbating impacts of possible flooding as the region faces back-to-back storms this week. In late December into January, much the state was thrashed with rounds of deadly flooding.

On Friday, the rainfall broke several California daily records as of around 5:30 p.m. local time:

Michigan outages won’t fully return before Sunday

The aftermath of the same weather system that struck California and numerous states spanning the country earlier this week is still affecting hundreds of thousands of people in the Midwest.

Nearly 500,000 homes and businesses in Michigan were still in the dark Saturday following a powerful winter storm created dangerous icing conditions, according to tracking site PowerOutage.us. Wayne County accounted for the most outages at more than 150,000.

DTE, one of Michigan’s largest electric providers, is restoring power to stricken areas but cautioned it will not be able to return service to most customers before Sunday.

The storm battered multiple western states and the Great Lakes region, delivering batches of snow over several days.

Plows move snow from I-35W southbound seen from the 42nd St. Bridge on February 22 in Minneapolis.

David Joles/Star Tribune/AP

Crews in Wyoming were in search-and-rescue mode after more than 40 inches of snow fell in the southern parts of the state over the course of several days and motorists were trapped in heavy snow, the state highway patrol said on Twitter.

In Minnesota, Minneapolis officials declared a one-day snow emergency Friday due to heavy snow, and city crews have been plowing and treating streets. The city was hammered with more than 13 inches in a three-day period this week.

Since the storm began Monday evening, cumulative snowfall reached dozens of inches in some cities, including 48 inches in Battle Lake, Wyoming, 32 inches in Dupuyer, Montana, and 29 inches in Park City, Utah.

In New England, icy conditions likely contributed to a massive 15-vehicle pileup on the Massachusetts Turnpike Thursday night, according to a tweet by the Massachusetts State Police. source

A slow-moving winter storm has struck the West Coast, flooding highways in Los Angeles and prompting rare blizzard warnings in Southern California.

In its first-ever blizzard warning, the National Weather Service in San Diego said the San Bernardino County mountains could see 3 to 5 feet of snow through Saturday morning.

Blizzard warnings were also issued for Los Angeles and Ventura counties through Saturday afternoon. Up to 5 feet of snow is possible with some isolated areas seeing between 7 and 8 feet. The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office issued its last blizzard warning on February 4, 1989.

Cars stuck in flooding on Vineland Ave in North Hollywood, California on Friday, February 24, 2023.

KCAL/KCBS

Heavy rain fell Friday afternoon in Los Angeles and flooding shut down numerous thoroughfares the area. The NWS issued a flash flood warning for the city – the second highest level of flood warning from the NWS, only topped by a flood emergency.

Up to 5 inches of rain could fall across lower elevations of the greater Los Angeles area while the mountains could see 6 inches. In the San Diego area, up to 3 inches of rain is possible in lower elevations while the mountains could get 7 inches.

Over 6 million people are covered by the flood warning, including downtown Los Angeles, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Burbank and Santa Barbara.

A car stuck in the snow in the San Gabriel Mountains along Angeles Crest Highway during a storm in La Canada, California, on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023.

Eric Thayer/Bloomberg/Getty Images

“This storm system will be unusually cold, and snow levels will be very low. In fact, areas very close to the Pacific Coast and also into the interior valleys that are not accustomed to seeing snow, may see some accumulating snowfall,” the National Weather Service said early Friday.

“The worst impacts from flooding and blizzard conditions occur Friday afternoon through Saturday morning, when any non-essential or non-emergency travel should be postponed!” the San Diego weather service said.

Wind gusts may hit 75mph

The storm has put more than 20 million people under flood watches and more than 30 million people under high wind alerts across Southern California – roughly two months after the state endured rounds of deadly flooding. The highest gusts in the warning areas could reach 75 mph.

Up to 6 inches of snow is possible across lower elevations and up to 3 feet could fall on the region’s highest peaks before conditions begin to improve by Friday evening as the storm slips to the south.

“Heavy snow, winds gusting as high as 60 mph, will cause zero visibility due to blowing and drifting snow,” the weather service warned.

Snow has already hit the Santa Cruz Mountain, resident Ngugi Kihara told CNN on Friday.

“We never seen this much snow up here,” Kihara said. “We woke up to it. It started yesterday but picked up a lot overnight. Lots of trees are falling and all the roads around us are closed. Power is out and has been mostly gone since Tuesday.”

Children revel in the rare snowfall in Yucaipa with a view of the San Bernardino County mountains in California.

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

Power outages were already adding up in California late Friday, with nearly 99,000 customers in the dark, largely in the northern region, according to poweroutage.us.

Power outages continue in the Midwest

As the storm struck the West, a ferocious, multiday winter storm began to subside after wreaking havoc in several states across the West, northern Great Plains, the Great Lakes region and New England.

Over 640,000 utility customers in Michigan are without power in the state, according to poweroutage.us and DTE, one of Michigan’s largest electric providers, said it won’t get most of its customers back online before Sunday.

Twenty percent of DTE’s customers were without power as of Friday afternoon, DTE CEO Jerry Norcia said in a press conference. This is more than 480,000 customers according to poweroutage.us.

By the end of the day on Friday, the company expects to restore power to 200,000 customers. By Sunday the utility hopes to bring nearly all customers back to service, Norcia said.

Wayne County is currently the hardest hit area with over 227,000 customers offline due to this week’s winter storm. Nearby Oakland County has another 112,000 without power.

The forecast low temperature in the Detroit area Friday night is 23 degrees, according to the NWS.

Brutal storm triggers rescue efforts

Several counties in Wyoming went into search-and-rescue mode after more than 40 inches of snow fell in the southern parts of the state over the course of several days and motorists were trapped in heavy snow, the state highway patrol said on Twitter.

Ice covered tree branches are seen on the ground after a freezing ice storm in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on Thursday.

Rebecca Cook/Reuters

Minneapolis, Minnesota, saw more than 13 inches in a three-day period this week. More than 160 vehicle crashes were reported statewide, and dozens of cars spun off roads Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Minnesota State Patrol said in a series of tweets.

Minneapolis officials have declared a one-day snow emergency beginning Friday, and city crews have been plowing and treating streets.

Since the storm began Monday evening, cumulative snowfall reached dozens of inches in some cities, including 48 inches in Battle Lake, Wyoming, 32 inches in Dupuyer, Montana, and 29 inches in Park City, Utah.

But snow was not the storm’s only culprit. Severe icing was also a danger.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, recorded 0.65 inches, while Fransville, Wisconsin, measured 0.75 inches of ice.

And in New England, icy conditions likely contributed to a massive 15-vehicle pileup on the Massachusetts Turnpike Thursday night, according to a tweet by the Massachusetts State Police.

The chain-reaction crash involved multiple personal vehicles and tractor trailers, officials said. Troopers, firefighters and EMS responded to the incident and multiple victims had to be transported to the hospital, according to the tweet.

Southern US sees record heat

As northern regions of the country were measuring snowfall and ice accumulation, parts of the Southeast were experiencing record-high heat.

More than 50 daily record highs were recorded in the Southeast Thursday.