For the first time in more than three decades, a blizzard warning has been issued for Los Angeles.
The National Weather Service has warned that the “cold and deadly” winter storm that has hit much of the United States is on its way to the usually pleasant southern region of the West Coast.
Amounts of up to 1.5m (5ft) of snow might fall in some Los Angeles mountains, raising the risk of avalanches, as well as gusts of up to 75mph (120 kph) and potential floods.
This is Los Angeles’ first blizzard warning since 1989.
“I’ve been in California for 30 years and I’ve never seen anything like it,” Karen Krenis remarked.
Ventura County issued evacuation notices for four places that were deemed unstable following last month’s storms.
Temperatures in the state are expected to fall significantly below normal, putting homeless individuals in grave danger.
Terry Stephens, who lives in a trailer near Palmdale, was temporarily placed in a hotel room on Wednesday following a chilly night.
According to the Los Angeles Times, she stated: “It was bitterly cold; your bones ached and you couldn’t get warm. I had three blankets on yesterday night and was still cold. Nothing worked.”
The storms have already wreaked havoc on northern areas of the United States, paralysing roadways, forcing schools to close, and knocking out power to almost a million homes and businesses.
Michigan was severely struck, with over 820,000 people without power at one time, although outages were also reported in Illinois, New York, and Wisconsin.
Authorities reported 3,000 power lines were also toppled, and a Michigan firefighter died on Wednesday after coming upon a downed power line in the village of Paw Paw.
More than 2,000 planes were cancelled and over 14,000 were delayed across the United States.
