Rare Snow for Parts of Southern California
At first glance at the photo below, you might think you’re looking at snow dusted mountains in Colorado.
It’s actually from the Santa Monica Mountains in Southern California, which saw light snow on Thursday as well as in many other cities nearby.
A very cold upper level low pressure system moved through the area, helping drop snow levels down to as low as 700 feet and allowing for snow to fall in places such as Malibu, Thousand Oaks, Pasadena, Simi Valley, and other surrounding communities near Los Angeles.
Snow in Southern California in the Santa Monica Mountains
**SNOW IN MALIBU** What a scene Thursday afternoon above Malibu in the Santa Monica Mountains where snow was falling at 1500'! There were numerous reports across Los Angeles and surrounding communities of snow, sleet, graupel & hail!
Posted by WeatherNation on Friday, February 22, 2019
There was no official report of snow in downtown Los Angeles, and it’s been a while since an event like this one.
According to the National Weather Service in Los Angeles, it was back in 1962 that there was a trace that fell on January 21 and 22.
Measurable snow in the City of Angels has only been on record twice since 1877 — on January 9, 1949, and also on January 15, 1932.
Snow in the Los Angeles area…how rare is it?
**LOS ANGELES SNOW** Although none of the official recording sites in the Los Angeles, CA, area measured snow, there was lots of excitement to see it come down in Southern California. Meteorologist Meredith Garofalo shows us the last time snow was recorded in the LA via US National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard
Posted by WeatherNation on Friday, February 22, 2019
The last significant and widespread measurable snow to affect the Los Angeles and Ventura County valleys was on February 8th, 1989, when up to 5 inches of snow fell in portions of the San Fernando Valley westward to Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley.
For WeatherNation, I’m Meteorologist Meredith Garofalo