Amphibious Lambo and Flood-Powered Trash Can were just the beginning. It’s time for El Niño: The Reckoning.
A nasty set of El Niño-powered storms thrashed the West Coast over the weekend, confirming predictions that a “Miracle March” might deliver the promised gut-punch of rain and snow that the region desperately needs.
The good news: The “atmospheric river” jetting in from the Pacific this weekend was cold enough that moisture from the storm fell as snow, not rain, dropping up to five feet of snow in some parts of the Sierras.
Well look at that! Up to 5 feet of snow fell along the Sierra Crest from March 5-7. #cawx pic.twitter.com/Bx3agTJn6B
— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) March 7, 2016
At lower elevations, heavy rain trapped cars in floodwaters and caused plenty of crashes up and down the state, including a big rig that flipped off the 210 Freeway in Southern California, rolled onto a set of just-opened light rail tracks, and caught on fire. (The driver escaped.)
W/B210 at Sierra Madre truck fire C/M on to Metro Rail, HOV 1&2 lanes closed ~ til 3p @metrolosangeles @CHPsouthern pic.twitter.com/i8GESz6smO
— Caltrans District 7 (@CaltransDist7) March 6, 2016
The resulting blaze was hot enough to melt the electrical wires above the tracks. Amazingly, the train was re-opened in time for the Monday morning commute.
But trucks weren’t the only things burning in LA. The tail-end of the system whipped through the city early this morning, rousing Angelenos with end-times thunder that set off car alarms and lightning that ignited local foliage. As for the fiery tree (which is actually kind of a common thing during LA’s rare thunderstorms), perhaps it is still burning even now, an eternal flame over the city that will serve as a reminder of all that El Niño hath wrought.
Just saw a tree getting struck by lightning and setting on fire on my way to work. Reported it to 911. ⚡️🌴🔥😱🚒 pic.twitter.com/b2sTcodTOF
— Ken Chung (@kenchung) March 7, 2016
Get those camera phones ready, there’s more rain on the way.
