© Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press
A vehicle is wedged against a bridge pillar in the surging Los Angeles River on Tuesday.
A vehicle is wedged against a bridge pillar in the surging Los Angeles River on Tuesday.
The normally constrained L.A. River roared to life, sucking vehicles down its surging waters and swamping the small islands that dot the middle of the urban waterway near Atwater Village. A man in Sylmar had to be rescued after he got swept up into its flow.
Trees were toppled in Whittier, while homeless people who normally occupy benches near the Civic Center stop downtown huddled in an alcove in an effort to stay dry.
The most significant storm of the season arrived in Southern California on Tuesday with a wallop — snarling traffic, delivering gusty winds and dropping a steady deluge of record-breaking rain and snow across the region.
"As far as intensity, it's one of our stronger storms," said Kristan Lund, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. "It's definitely the strongest we've seen so far, and potentially one of the stronger ones we'll see this season."
Comment: 'It's going to crank up': Tahoe area reports 2 feet of snow overnight, with another 2 to 5 feet on the way