Rare winter storm batters Los Angeles – with snow and blizzards leaving residents without power
A winter storm that has made its way over the Pacific has brought several days of flooding, freezing temperatures and snowfall to some parts of Southern California.
Rivers have swelled to dangerous levels and snow has even fallen in low-lying areas around Los Angeles – with some areas receiving over 30 inches of snow, and forecasters saying there is more to come.
The National Weather Service said it was one of the strongest storms to ever hit southwest California, and it continued to have a significant impact even as the volume of wind and rain dropped.
Children make snow angels after snow fell at approximately the 1,400ft level in Rancho Cucamonga, California
Hills around suburban Santa Clarita in the north of Los Angeles were blanketed in white, as snow also surprised inland suburbs to the east.
The storm tapered off in the region as rare blizzard warnings for the mountains and widespread flood watches ended late in the day.
Forecasters said there would be a one-day respite before the next storm is expected on Monday.
More than 120,000 California utility customers went without electricity following several days of fierce winds, toppled trees and downed wires – while the West Coast’s major north-south highway, Interstate 5, remained closed due to heavy snow and ice in Tejon Pass through the mountains of north Los Angeles.
More heavy snow is forecast for some parts of California
As of Saturday morning, multiday precipitation totals included 205cm (81 inches) of snow at the Mountain High resort in the San Gabriel Mountains, northeast of Los Angeles and up to 160cm (64 inches) at Snow Valley in the San Bernardino Mountains.
There was also nearly 38.1cm (15 inches) of rainfall at Los Angeles County’s Cogswell Dam and nearly 26.6cm (10.5 inches) in the Woodland Hills section of the city.
“Quite a remarkable storm the last few days with historic amounts of precip and snow down to elevations that rarely see snow,” an LA-area weather office wrote.
Storm clouds cloak downtown high rises in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Fire Department used a helicopter to rescue four homeless people who were stranded in the Los Angeles River’s major flood control basin – a river that is mostly dry throughout the whole year.
A spokesperson said two people were taken to hospital with hypothermia.
Meanwhile, in the Valencia area of north Los Angeles County, the Santa Clara River carried away three motorhomes early on Saturday after carving into an embankment where an RV park is located.
KCAL-TV reported no one was hurt, but one resident described the scene as devastating.
Lightning strikes shut down LA County beaches as scattered bursts of snow, showers and thunderstorms persisted before the storm, fuelled by low pressure rotating off the coast, finally departed.
The Weather Prediction Center of the National Weather Service has forecast heavy snow over the Cascade Mountains and the Sierra Nevada in California through the weekend.
Further east, some residents were still struggling to deal with the impact of storms earlier in the week.
Some 350,000 customers were without power in Michigan as of early Saturday afternoon, according to reports from the two main utilities in the state, DTE and Consumers Energy. Both energy suppliers said they hoped to have the lights back on for most of their customers by Sunday night.
Around half an inch of ice weighed down some power lines, equivalent to the weight of a baby grand piano, according to Consumers Energy spokesman Brian Wheeler.
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine
Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ has been passed by the US congress, sending it to the president to sign into law.
The controversial tax breaks and spending cuts package cleared its final hurdle as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill with a 218-214 vote.
The bill delivers tax breaks Mr Trump promised in his 2024 election campaign, cuts health and food safety programmes, and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it will lower tax revenues by $4.5trn over 10 years and add $3.4trn to the US’s $36.2trn debt.
But despite concerns over the 869-page bill’s price tag – and its hit to healthcare programmes – Republicans largely lined up in support, with just two rebelling on the vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is congratulated following the vote. Pic: Reuters
Every Democrat in Congress voted against the bill, blasting it as a giveaway to the wealthy that will leave millions of Americans uninsured.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made the Republicans’ closing argument for the bill, telling Congress: “For everyday Americans, this means real, positive change that they can feel.”
Earlier, the House’s Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a record-breaking eight-hour and 44-minute speech against it.
“The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires,” he said.
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The bill’s spending cuts largely target Medicaid, the health programme that covers 71 million Americans on low incomes.
It will tighten enrolment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments.
The changes could leave nearly 12 million people without health insurance, according to the CBO.
On the other side of the ledger, it will stave off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of the year, when tax cuts from President Trump’s first term were due to expire.
It also sets up new tax breaks for overtime pay, seniors and tipped income.
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The bill narrowly passed the US Senate on Tuesday after vice president JD Vance cast the deciding vote to break a 50-50 tie.
Mr Trump will sign it into law on Friday at 5pm local time (10pm in the UK), the White House said.
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