Rain snarls morning commute, 115 accidents reported

LOS ANGELES - A cold late-season storm dampened the morning commute in Los Angeles today, with 115 accidents reported on county freeways, compared with 33 during the comparable period a week ago.

The report covered the normal morning commute period, from 5 to 9 a.m., California Highway Patrol Officer Jennifer Connelly said.

Periods of rain and mountain snow were expected to continue through Wednesday, along with some gusty onshore winds in the mountains and deserts, according to the National Weather Service.

A quarter-inch up to three-quarters of an inch of rain is expected, and possibly up to 1 1/4 inches on southwest-facing coastal slopes, weather specialist Curt Kaplan said.

Snow levels will be 5,000-6,000 feet, with up to three inches of snow possible above 6,500 feet, Kaplan said.

A wind advisory will remain in effect until 9 p.m. in the Los Angeles County mountains and the Antelope Valley, where gusty south-to-southwest winds are forecast to develop, with sustained winds between 20 mph and 30 mph expected with gusts to 50 mph, Kaplan said.

A wind advisory will be in effect in the Antelope Valley from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. today, he said. In the Ventura mountains, a similar advisory will be in effect until 3 p.m.

Cold air that came through the region resulted in record lows for Monday at Long Beach Airport, UCLA, Lancaster and Sandberg.

The low of 49 at Long Beach Airport broke the old record of 50 set in 1964. The low of 47 at UCLA broke the old

record of 48 set in 1953. The low of 42 at Lancaster tied the record of 42 set in 1955. The low of 32 at Sandberg in the Antelope Valley broke the record of 33 set in 1977.

The last time downtown Los Angeles had more than an inch of rain in May was on May 12, 1998, with 1.18 inches.

Since the weather service began keeping records in 1877, the record one- day total in May is May 8, 1977, with 2.02 inches.

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18079145?source=rss

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