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Los Angeles (AFP) – A rare snowstorm – the first in more than 30 years – loomed over Los Angeles on Thursday, despite the fact that the US East Coast was enjoying similar temperatures to summer.
Up to 2.1 meters of snow is expected on the foothills around Los Angeles, the National Weather Service (NWS) said, warning of “extremely dangerous mountain conditions.”
The blizzard warning, in effect Friday morning, is the first for the area since 1989.
“Still on track for our dangerous winter storm. Blizzardy conditions expected in the mountains with FEET of snow falling. A few inches of rain expected at lower elevations. Be prepared for weather!” the tweeted. NWS of the Angels.
Although snow was not expected in downtown Los Angeles, the city is surrounded by mountains.
On a clear day, the 10,000-foot Mount San Antonio and other peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains are visible, and their snow-capped tops should offer a fine view for city dwellers.
Other parts of the country more resistant to winter were also affected Thursday, with the area around the Great Lakes experiencing power outages.
More than 900,000 customers in the region were left in the dark by 22:00 GMT, according to poweroutage.us.
Forecasters had warned that icing on power lines would make them vulnerable to damage from gusty winds.
Local media in Van Buren County, Michigan, reported a volunteer firefighter killed when a power line fell.
Meanwhile, bad weather was wreaking havoc on travelers, with more than 1,000 flights in, to or from the United States cancelled, according to flightaware.com.
The Northeast was also under a winter storm warning Thursday, with difficult travel conditions in some parts of New York state, including Buffalo, where a strong blizzard in December killed dozens of people.
But on the East Coast, some areas were enjoying record temperatures.
Temperatures around Washington DC were expected to exceed 27 degrees Celsius.
