A tipped semi truck lies along the shoulder of I-15 northbound near Farmington, Utah, on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 High winds ripping through Utah have overturned several semi-trucks, knocked out power to more than 50,000 customers and prompted school closures. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Al Hartmann)
A tipped semi truck lies along the shoulder of I-15 northbound near Farmington, Utah, on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 High winds ripping through Utah have overturned several semi-trucks, knocked out power to more than 50,000 customers and prompted school closures. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Al Hartmann)
Palm fronds line a street in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 after high winds flipped over trees and trucks and knocked out power to more than 300,000 California customers early Thursday before moving inland, where schools in a Utah town closed because of 100 mph wind gusts. (AP Photo/Alicia Chang)
Los Angeles City firefighters look over a eucalyptus tree that fell on a house and knocked down power lines, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Fierce Santa Ana winds hit Southern California on Wednesday night, causing scattered power outages and property damage, with gusts exceeding 50 mph. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
This NOAA satellite image taken Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 1:00 PM EST shows variable cloud cover over the West. Areas of light snow showers and high winds form in southeastern Idaho and Utah, ahead of cold front extending from the Northern Rockies through northern California. A variety of Wind Advisories and High Win Watches and Warnings remain in effect for parts of California through western Utah. Meanwhile, light to moderate snow showers with periods of heavy snowfall and windy weather conditions occur from Montana through the Northern Plains, ahead of a Canadian cold front dropping down from southern Canada. Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories are in effect for these regions through the evening. Snow accumulations for today are expected to range from 6 to 12 inches above 5,000 feet and 3 to 6 inches at lower elevations in the Northern Rockies. Snow Accumulations in the Northern Plains will range from 1 to 3 inches in the southwest and between 3 and 5 inches in the northwest. (AP Photo/Weather Underground)
A significant wind event will continue across California and the Great Basin, while snow will persist from the central Plains to central Great Basin. A cold front will trigger more snow showers to the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes.
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Some of the worst winds in years blasted through California overnight, sweeping through canyons, gusting up to 97 mph (156 kph), and toppling trees and trucks while knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people.
High winds were also reported elsewhere throughout the West, including 100 mph (160 kph) gusts that forced a Utah town to close schools.
"What's driving this is a large, cold low-pressure system that's currently centered over Needles, California. The strong winds are wrapping around it," weather service forecaster Andrew Rorke said.
The system will sit and spin counter-clockwise over the area for the next day, although "it won't be quite as hellacious" as Wednesday night, Rorke said.
The National Weather Service issued high wind warnings and advisories for parts of California, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Arizona and New Mexico. The front will eventually bring blustery weather to Oklahoma, Missouri and Indiana, he said.
An estimated 300,000 customers in Southern California were without electricity Thursday morning.
"It seems like there's been extensive damage across the county," based on preliminary reports, said Bob Spencer, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.
"It was a terrifying ride for me, coming here in pitch dark...and watching motorists take no notice of lights being out," he said. "What the weather experts are telling us are that these probably are the worst windstorms to hit (the area) in more than a decade."
High winds ripping through Utah overturned several semi-trucks on or near Interstate 15, and 54,000 customers were without power along Utah's 120-mile (193-kilometer) Wasatch Front as high winds took down power lines.
Police asked schools to close in Centerville, where the National Weather Service reported a 102 mph (164 kph) gust. Mail delivery and trash pickup were cancelled.
San Francisco was spared any blackouts but about 26,000 customers were without power in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Northern California.
In Southern California, high winds blew over at least six semitrailers before dawn on highways below the Cajon Pass in San Bernardino County, said California Highway Patrol Officer Mario Lopez. One trucker was taken to a hospital.
Twenty-three flights were diverted and several delayed beginning Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport because of severe crosswinds and debris on runways, officials said. An hour-long power outage affected all passenger terminals.
The winds had died down by Thursday morning but some delays were reported in flights, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said.
Northeast of Los Angeles, foothill communities were hard hit as the winds swept down the San Gabriel Mountains. A 97-mph (156-kph) gust was recorded Wednesday night at Whitaker Peak in Los Angeles County. High gusts Thursday morning topped 60 mph (96 kph).
Pasadena closed schools and libraries and declared a local emergency, the first since 2004. Fire spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said 40 people were evacuated from an apartment building after a tree collapsed, smashing part of the roof.
Two house fires, possibly caused by downed power lines, critically burned one person, seriously injured three others and forced seven others to flee, Derderian said. There have been hundreds of reports of wires down, she said. Trees also fell and some roads are impassable.
Overnight, a falling tree collapsed the canopy of a gas station, but an employee shut off the pumps and no fuel spilled. Another tree toppled onto a car, trapping the driver, who was taken to a hospital.
Along Huntington Drive, a major, six-lane thoroughfare that carries traffic into downtown Los Angeles, nearly every traffic light was dark across a distance of more than 10 miles (17 kilometers), snarling traffic during the morning commute.
In Arcadia, 15 miles (24 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, power was out and numerous large trees were blocking residential streets. The local school district closed all of its campuses, including the high school, three middle schools and six elementary schools.
The winds were colder but fiercer than the Santa Ana winds that often hit California in late fall, but they carried the same ability to dry out brush and push fires into conflagrations.
In northwestern Los Angeles County, sheriff's deputies rescued two men trapped on a dam spillway near a 200-drop. The men had gone sailing in a 10-foot (3-meter) boat Wednesday but gusting winds kicked up a 5-foot (1.52-meter) swell and the boat capsized. They clung to the boat as high winds pushed them to the dam.
They were treated for mild hypothermia, and one man, a former opera singer, was so appreciative that he serenaded the rescuers with "God Bless America."
___
Associated Press writer John Rogers in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Associated Pressvincent brown vincent brown willow smith tom bradley tom bradley penn state riot penn state riot
No comments:
Post a Comment