65 million people in the US under alert for winter storm 1:43
(CNN) --
As a ferocious, multi-day winter storm begins to abate after bringing heavy snow and ice to a large swath of the country this week and leaving thousands without power in the Midwest, another storm is threatening to bring rain and snow to the west this Friday, prompting unusual blizzard warnings to be issued for Southern California.
In its first blizzard warning, the National Weather Service in San Diego said the mountains of San Bernardino County could record 3 to 5 feet of snow through Saturday morning.
Snowstorm warnings have also been issued for Los Angeles and Ventura counties through Saturday afternoon.
Up to 1.5 meters of snow could be recorded, with some isolated areas with between 2.1 and 2.4 meters.
"This storm system will be unusually cold, and snow levels will be very low. In fact, areas very close to the Pacific coast and also inland valleys that are not used to seeing snowfall could see some snow accumulation," the National Weather Service said earlier this Friday.
"For Friday morning through Saturday afternoon, plan to shelter up and avoid travel. The worst impacts from flooding and blizzard conditions occur from this Friday afternoon through Saturday morning, when any non-essential or non-emergency travel should be postponed," the San Diego weather service said.
The storm has put more than 20 million people under flood watches and more than 30 million people under high wind watches across Southern California, about two months after the state suffered rounds of deadly flooding.
The highest gusts in the alert areas could reach 120 km/h.
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The system will affect Northern California early Friday.
Up to 0.1 meters of snow is expected to fall across lower elevations and up to 0.9 meters on the region's highest peaks before conditions begin to improve Friday afternoon as the storm moves south.
The Sierra Nevada mountains could see up to 3 feet of snow fall Friday through Saturday and in Nevada, a blizzard warning for northwest Nye County will be in effect Friday morning through Saturday. early.
"Heavy snowfall and wind gusts of up to 100 km/h will result in zero visibility due to wind and snowpack," the weather service warned.
The lower areas of Los Angeles could receive up to 127mm of rain, while the mountains could receive up to 152mm.
In the San Diego area, up to 76mm of rain is expected at lower elevations, while the mountains could receive up to 177mm.
Power outages were already adding up in California early Friday, with about 75,000 customers in the dark, largely in the northern region.
This represents a small part of the more than 820,000 outages recorded across the country at the start of the day, according to PowerOutage.us.
Most of the outages, nearly 720,000, were in Michigan, where freezing rain and ice this week damaged utility lines and trees.
A brutal storm triggers rescue efforts
This week's huge and powerful storm wreaked havoc across several Western states, the northern Great Plains, the Great Lakes region and New England.
Several Wyoming counties went into search-and-rescue mode after more than 4 feet of snow fell in the southern part of the state over the course of several days and trapped motorists in heavy snow, the state highway patrol said in Twitter.
Ice covered tree branches are seen on the ground after an ice storm in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on Thursday.
Credit: Rebecca Cook/Reuters
Minneapolis, Minnesota, recorded falling more than 0.3 meters in a three-day period this week.
More than 160 vehicle accidents were reported across the state, and dozens of cars left the roads Wednesday, a spokesman for the Minnesota State Patrol said in a series of tweets.
Minneapolis officials declared a snow emergency day beginning Friday, and city crews have been plowing and treating the streets.
Since the storm began Monday night, accumulated snowfall has reached tens of inches in some cities, including 4 feet in Battle Lake, Wyoming, 2 feet in Dupuyer, Montana, and 2 feet in Park City. , Utah.
But the snow was not the only culprit in the storm.
Severe ice also added to the danger.
In Ann Arbor, Michigan, 16mm was recorded, while in Franksville, Wisconsin, 19mm of ice was measured.
And in New England, icy conditions likely contributed to a 15-vehicle crash on the Massachusetts Turnpike Thursday night, according to a tweet from the Massachusetts State Police.
The chain accident involved multiple personal vehicles and tractor trailers, authorities said.
Police, fire brigade and EMS responded to the incident and several victims had to be taken to hospital, according to the tweet.
Record heat in the southern US
While the northern regions of the country measured snowfall and ice accumulation, parts of the southeast were experiencing record heat.
More than 50 record daily highs were recorded in the Southeast on Thursday.
Simons Island, Georgia, recorded an all-time high temperature of 31°C for February.
Tupelo, Mississippi, hit a high of 30.5°C, another all-time high for February.
The previous record, of 28.8 °C, was established this Wednesday.
Raleigh, North Carolina, reached an all-time high temperature of 29. °C for February.
The previous record of 28.8 °C was set in 1977.
The duel between the winter storm and the southern heat wave created a temperature difference of 55°C between the northern Rockies and the south earlier this week.
-- Jennifer Henderson contributed to this reporting.
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