High Wind in Orange County Coastal Plain, California

A winter storm started out on the evening of Saturday, March 4 with heavy wet snow at the higher elevations and heavy rain and flooding at the lower elevations. Sustained 40 knot winds overnight caused heavy surf and several boats to lose their anchorage. On Sunday, March 5, strong winds continued to cause damage to trees and power lines. Participants in outdoor athletic events Sunday morning, March 5, developed hypothermia. Later outdoor events were cancelled. As reinforcing cold air arrived Sunday night, the snow level lowered dramatically, trapping at least 30 people in the wilderness areas of the San Diego Mountains, closing highways and freeways with seven inches of snow in the passes. Three people died and another thirteen were hospitalized for hypothermia. At the 6500 foot level, seventeen inches snow fell in less than 24 hours. Blizzard conditions were reported throughout the Southwest California Mountains.