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

The 17-year-old wrong-way driving felon who ran over a mom and her infant was shot to death

FIRST ON FOX: A Los Angeles 17-year-old who ran over a mother walking her baby in a stroller in 2021 and received just a few months of diversionary camp as punishment was gunned down in Palmdale, California, this week.

Kristopher Baca, whom Fox News Digital has previously not identified due to his youth, pleaded guilty to the hit-and-run last year.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office confirmed his death Friday but said the examination was still pending.

Deputies found him dead with gunshot wounds in a Palmdale driveway on the 83600 block of 11th Street East on Wednesday evening, according to the sheriff’s office.

Sources close to the investigation said he had been at a fast food restaurant earlier trying to “get with a girl.”

As he walked home alone, a car pulled up next to him and an argument broke out. Someone in the vehicle opened fire, then sped off.

If George Gascon actually did his job, this kid would still be alive in jail.

— Hit-and-run victim

The young mother, who has asked only to be identified as Rachel, eventually moved her family out of Los Angeles to get away from what she has described as soft-on-crime policies.

She told Fox News Digital on Friday that her husband was out of town when she heard the news, and she had to mull it over alone. She said she was both relieved and saddened by the news.

“The universe delivered the justice we weren’t given in court, but a much harsher punishment than he’d have been dealt in a court of law,” she said.

GRAPHIC CONTENT: Heart-stopping moment as car hits mother and baby, drives away in Venice, CA

The case made national headlines last year when Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon’s office sought a five- to seven-month sentence in juvenile probation camp, a punishment for young offenders described as less severe than military school but harsher than summer camp.

Gascon’s office told Fox News Digital at the time that the sentence was “an appropriate resolution.” Spokespersons did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

The teen was already on felony probation for poisoning a high school girl’s drink at the time of the hit-and-run, which surveillance cameras captured on Aug. 6, 2021.

The video shows a stolen vehicle speeding the wrong way down a one-way backstreet. It plowed into a woman walking her infant son in a stroller. Then he hit the gas, accelerating away from the scene, where a good Samaritan in a pickup truck rammed the suspect vehicle head-on.

Los Angeles police responded and found drugs in the driver’s system and marijuana in the car, according to an incident report obtained by Fox News.

The suspect was 15 at the time of the hit-and-run and asked the court for an early release from his light punishment. A judge denied the request, but the youth died before his 18th birthday.

“I think I feel shorted — by the system because they didn’t hold him accountable and sad, not for him, but for his mom a little, because if George Gascon actually did his job, this kid would still be alive in jail,” Rachel said.

By Michael Ruiz , Bill Melugin | Fox News

by: Tony Kurzweil source

Police are searching for whoever opened fire on two people, killing a man and wounding a woman who were parked in front of a strip mall in the Green Meadows neighborhood of Los Angeles Wednesday night.

The shooting was reported around 8:30 p.m. in the parking lot of a Queen Nails salon and Pizza Hut restaurant located near the intersection of Avalon Boulevard and Imperial Highway.

The suspect vehicle had just driven into the parking lot when several people got out and fired multiple rounds at the victims, Los Angeles Police Department Captain Adrian Gonzalez said.

Both victims, described as a man about 23 years old and woman in her early 30s, were struck.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, Gonzalez said.

The woman was taken to a local hospital in stable condition.

There was no immediate word on a motive for the shooting.

“We have not interviewed the female yet,” Gonzalez said.

The initial investigation did not show any connection between either of the businesses and the shooting, Gonzalez said.