Rainy weather causes havoc on L.A. roads ahead of peak holiday travel
As a band of showers continued to soak Southern California on Thursday, holiday travelers faced a bevy of obstacles on Los Angeles area roadways.
At about 4:52 a.m. in Pasadena, a big rig crashed on the eastbound 210 Freeway and overturned onto the Metro Gold Line tracks at the Sierra Madre Villa station on Halstead Street, according to Officer Christian Cracraft of the California Highway Patrol. All Metro Gold line service was shut down, and a carpool lane on the eastbound 210 was blocked.
On the southbound 101, three lanes were blocked after a big rig jackknifed about 5:15 a.m. near Lankershim Boulevard. The lanes, he said, would remain closed for at least 90 minutes.
The crashes were just a few of the hundreds of collisions that tied up Southern California roadways since the first of two storms moved over the area Wednesday. There were also flight delays at Los Angeles International Airport.
The storm dumped 1.68 inches of rain in La Mirada, 1.36 inches in Rolling Hills and more than an inch in Topanga.
According to the National Weather Service, the storms could deliver snow over the weekend — and that could complicate travel plans for motorists on Christmas Eve.
The rain will linger Thursday morning, but will disappear by the afternoon.
A second storm from the Gulf of Alaska is expected to move south and bring more showers, with periods of heavy rain, on Friday afternoon. But forecasters say Angelenos could get some drizzle ahead of Friday’s storm. By Saturday morning, the rain will turn into showers.
When Friday’s storm arrives, temperatures will drop into the 30s and 40s, winds will increase and snow could drop on the 5 Freeway in the Grapevine area of the Tejon Pass, NWS meteorologist Scott Sukup said.
While temperatures will hover in the mid-40s and 50s across the L.A. basin through Friday, the Antelope Valley will continue to freeze. According to the weather service, Lancaster set a record low Tuesday when temperatures dropped to 10 degrees. The previous record for the day — 13 degrees — was set in 2012.
For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.
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