Winter storm brings rain, heavy winds to SoCal

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Strong winds and rain on Sunday had a man fighting with his umbrella as he forced his way across the street in Westwood.

The National Weather Service (NWS) sent out a "significant weather advisory" for West Central Los Angeles and Central Ventura Counties.

The rain and winds took down trees and power lines.

Wow. This was the scene early Sunday evening in Southgate after a tree fell on a parked vehicle.

"'Tree fell down down, mashed the house, cat jumped 14 feet in the air," said Dan from Gardena. His neighbors storage shed was struck by the tree.

The downed tree and power lines most likely the result of "weak tornadic spinups," according to the NWS.

"It was the biggest eucalyptus tree is Freeman Park," Dan said.

Power companies reported more than 1500 outages in both the City of Los Angeles and surrounding areas. That's according to stats from Southern California Edison and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

In the South Bay, the outages affected a traffic light slowing traffic and the high winds took down another tree.

Wind takes down tree in Manhattan Beach! "I'm freezing!"

Police closed 31st Avenue between Laurel and Agnes as they worked to clear debris in Manhattan Beach. Two vehicles including a Mercedes were buried by branches.

"It happens every time there's big wind and you may get unlucky and your car may get hit, so take a look up and move your car if you see the wind," neighbor John Scatoloni said.

"Well its crazy and these trees have been around for a long time. They've gone down before, but we've never had wind like this. I sure hope my palms don't go down they've been here a long long time. We'll get through it, I hope," neighbor Susie Carnan said.