Storm Pounds Southern California

By Paul Chavez, Associated Press Writer

Fair use for educational purposes only!

Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2001; 3:37 p.m. EST

LOS ANGELES –– Downpours flooded roads and snow buried mountain passes Tuesday as the most powerful storm of the season hit Southern California.

The region's mountains were coated in staggering accumulations of snowfall since the weekend: 5 to 7 feet on Mount Baldy and 3 feet on Mount Wilson northeast of Los Angeles.

Winds gusting to 75 mph pushed so hard on boats tied up at a marina in Los Angeles harbor that two docks were ripped apart early Tuesday. About 20 people who live aboard boats were evacuated.

No one was hurt, but a few of the nearly 40 boats that became adrift were heavily damaged, Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells said.

"It's a strong storm, but not unusually strong. The big thing was that it hung around and affected us for a longer period," said Ray Tanabe, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Rainfall totals since the storm arrived over the weekend included nearly 3½ inches at the Los Angeles airport and 4½ inches in Beverly Hills.

Snow shut Interstate 5 over 4,144-foot Tejon Pass through the Tehachapi Mountains northwest of Los Angeles. Traffic on Highway 14 between the Antelope Valley in the desert and the Los Angeles basin moved under Highway Patrol escort.

The storm system arrived in Southern California on Sunday and may have played a role in five traffic deaths Monday, the Highway Patrol said. More than 130 accidents were reported Tuesday morning in Los Angeles County.

Trees and branches blown onto power lines caused scattered power outages for about 19,500 Southern California Edison Co. customers.

© Copyright 2001 The Associated Press

-- Swissrose (cellier@azstarnet.com), February 13, 2001