Just two days after near-record heat across Los Angeles, thunderstorms rattled the city with ice and snow piling up in some nearby communities.
Published Feb. 16, 2022 12:43 PM EST | Updated Feb. 18, 2022 7:10 AM EST
Nearly a month had passed without a single raindrop falling on Los Angeles, but that rainless streak came to an end on Tuesday afternoon in grand fashion when thunderstorms rumbled over Southern California.
Residents were sent scrambling for cover when the rain hit, occurring just two days after an unseasonable warm spell sent temperatures into the 80s F. Only 0.06 of an inch of rain was measured in downtown Los Angeles, the first measurable rain since Jan. 17, but a much different story unfolded in neighboring Pasadena, which is just about 10 miles northeast of L.A.
Hailstones piled up on roads and yards across Pasadena late Tuesday afternoon with claps of thunder and flashes of lightning shocking residents. Some were so stunned by the white hailstones that they misinterpreted the hail as snow.
A sidewalk and part of a road in Los Angeles County were covered in hail on Tuesday evening. (Twitter/ Emily Velasco)
While some residents watched in awe, others remained optimistic about the hail that was pelting Pasadena.
"Well, at least I don't have to make ice," one person remarked while watching hailstones hammer a nearby rooftop.
As much as an inch of hail accumulated on roads, making it look more like driving through a snowstorm in the Plains rather than a road in Southern California.
The Rose Bowl Stadium looked more like the Snow Bowl Stadium from the sky in the wake of the hailstorm, aerial images captured by a local news TV station showed.
Hail did not fall in Downtown Los Angeles, but the storm still caused disruptions for those traveling during the afternoon commute with more than 100 flights delayed at Los Angeles International Airport.
The high temperature in Los Angeles on Tuesday topped out at 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 9 degrees Fahrenheit below average for this time of year -- and occurred just three days after the city notched a high of 86 at the height of the winter heat wave that gripped the region. By Wednesday morning, temperatures were in the upper 40s, slightly below average for mid-February.
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Folks hoping to spend an evening at the beach also had plans derailed due to the weather. "All Los Angeles County Beaches are CLOSED due to lightning. Lifeguards are clearing the water and advising patrons on the beach to seek shelter immediately," the lifeguard division of the Los Angeles County Fire Department said in a tweet. The beaches were reopened about an hour after the storms had passed.
In the higher elevations of the mountains surrounding Los Angeles, between 4 and 12 inches of snow accumulated, including near Big Bear Lake, California.
A foot of snow accumulated at Twin Peaks, located in the mountains northeast of San Bernardino, contributing to dozens of spinouts on mountain roads, according to a trained spotter. Some hail was also mixed in with the snow.
The storms sparked ahead of a cold front that swept through Southern California on Tuesday afternoon.
The cooler weather will not stick around for long with temperatures predicted to return to the mid-70s by the end of the week, about 6 degrees Fahrenheit above normal for mid-February.
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