Cold storm brings rainfall, hail and snow to SoCal

LOS ANGELES (FOX 11 / CNS) - Snow began to fall in the highest reaches of Los Angeles County's mountains Sunday, as a May winter storm threatened to drop snow as low as 4,500 feet above sea level. Other spots reported cold rain, thunderstorms and even hail falling on SoCal.

A winter weather advisory was issued through 9 p.m. tonight for the mountains of Southern California. The National Weather Service said an unseasonably late season cold storm system swirled down the Central California coast in the morning hours.

At midmorning, the densest rainfall on radar was 140 miles west of Los Angeles, near Point Conception. But with the storm center swirling above San Bernardino, this moisture was expected to move south, then east, then north today into the Southern California mountains, meteorologists said.

The storm was showery, so rainfall totals were widely variable, the NWS said. Snow levels were at 4,000 feet, but the Grapevine was spared from snow, according to TV reports from the 4,140-foot summit on Interstate 5.

Later today, higher elevations were destined to get 3-6 inches of snow. Winds were predicted to be 15-25 miles per hour, with gusts to 40.

Most of the morning rain appeared to have fallen in southern Orange County. By 9:45 a.m. today,Yorba Linda had received .50 inches of rain, Fullerton .45, and Rancho Santa Santa Margarita had .50 in an NWS-certified rain gauge.

Rain was also falling in the southern Inland Empire: Temecula had received .23 inches.

Scattered showers were expected to continue into this evening, then a thick marine layer would bring fog and drizzle to the morning commute Monday.

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