Southern California A Winter Wonderland, A Flooded Mess And A Partial Drought Buster. With Videos

In a still from a video posted online
snow falls on a row of palm trees
in San Bernardino, California
during the day Saturday

 California has certainly had its share of chaotic weather lately, with show at elevations lower than seen in decades, and extensive flooding in and around Los Angeles. 

In the highest elevations, feet of snow came down in just a day or two.  The all-time 24 hour record for snowfall in California is 67 inches, and (I believe) the national record is 76 inches. It's possible that record was bested on some mountain somewhere in California, but not all the reports are in. 

The good news is the rain, and more importantly, the epic amounts of mountain snow, is great news for California. The snow pack - and the water stored in the snow - is well above normal for this point in the season. In some places, it's double the normal, and more than what accumulates in an entire season.

Storms that bring snow to the Sierra usually sputter out and mostly disappears by May. On average, three quarters of the snow that usually falls in these mountains does so by the end of March.  

 While it won't entirely erase the two-decade long mega-drought in parts of the state, it is giving some needed drought relief. At least in the short term, like, this year. 

No guarantees as to whether the drought will come roaring back after the one good rain and snow year that's happening now. 

Over the next week, several more feet of snow are forecast for the Sierra Nevada mountains, and several inches of rain in many low elevations of coastal California. So it ain't over yet! 

Some videos of the fun in California in recent days: 

Here's one good summary from Fox 11 in Los Angeles. Click on this link or view just below:

In Valencia, California, the Santa Clara river swept away three RVs and threatens the rest of the RV park:  Again, click on this link or if  you see image below, click on that:

Kind of a classic L.A. storm video. You see a Porche stuck in floodwaters with a well-dressed man standing atop the flooded car, his outfit ruined in the rain along with his Porche. He was later rescued and not injured. Click on this link or view below: 

As you might imagine, people in higher elevations of California faced even bigger challenges. Here's a report from a snowed-in TV journalist. Again, click on this link or watch below:

Gordon Burnham shared this lovely beautiful video of snow falling on his tropical paradise property in southern California, Again, click on this link or view below: