Unseasonably cold weather and severe storms pounded the Pacific Southwest coast this weekend, bringing rain, flash flooding and snow to parts of California and other states, forecasters said.
A flood warning was issued for San Diego on Sunday as the storm continued along the coast before heading inland.
“This storm will impact the entire United States, but the center of the storm is currently off the coast of California,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bob Smerbeck. “There will be problems such as flooding, landslides and landslides. People must remain vigilant.”
As of Sunday morning, 2 to 4 inches of rain had fallen in Los Angeles, and up to 6.5 inches had fallen in parts of Santa Barbara County, the weather service said.
The National Weather Service Los Angeles office announced Sunday that the rain will continue into Sunday, with the possibility of thunderstorms.
Forecasters warned that the storm could produce hail, strong winds and the risk of distant tornadoes.The storm is coming off the coast of california Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist at the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said the storm is expected to move south and east, creating a flash flood risk for Southern California.
Santorelli said heavy snow is possible in the Transverse Mountains and Sierra Nevada. This was a fairly cold system, so we expected significant snowfall above 6,000 feet, with snow accumulations of 1 to 3 feet, and even more snow possible above 7,500 feet.
A winter storm warning was in effect for most of the mountains until Sunday evening.
Smerbeck said California is expected to be dry by Monday, but the storm will continue to move into Arizona over the weekend.
Widespread rain is expected across Arizona into Sunday, with isolated thunderstorms expected through Monday, before drier, warmer weather returns later in the week.
A wind advisory was in effect for parts of southeastern Arizona and southern New Mexico until 8 p.m. Sunday.
The storm is also expected to bring significant precipitation to parts of Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. As of Sunday morning, AccuWeather was forecasting 6 to 10 inches of snow in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Amanda Holpch Contributed to the report.