Thursday February 8, 2024
Vox —
A brutal winter storm is battering the West Coast with torrential downpours in the south, blizzards in the north, and winds gusting up to 160 miles per hour.
The severe weather has killed at least three people. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Sunday for eight counties in the southern part of the state. The 14 million residents of the region are facing a high risk of excessive rainfall. Further north, more than 150,000 electricity customers lost power as of Tuesday morning.
And more severe weather is in store: The National Weather Service reports heavy rain will continue in parts of California through at least Wednesday, fueling “locally catastrophic flash and urban flooding” in cities like Los Angeles while snow will create “whiteout conditions and near impossible travel above 5,000 feet” in the Sierra Nevada mountains.