Storm Clears Way for Fair Weekend

The weather front that dropped nearly an inch of rain on downtown Los Angeles dissipated and blew its way into Nevada and Arizona on Wednesday after causing some power outages and traffic problems, but not much more.

There was some sunshine by early Wednesday afternoon, although the air mass following the front was described by the National Weather Service as moist and unstable enough to produce partly cloudy weather through this morning.

A high-pressure area should move into Southern California this afternoon, forecasters said, resulting in fair and warmer weather through the weekend.

Today’s high temperature is expected to be 64 to 70 degrees. Wednesday’s downtown high was 65.

The .91 of an inch of rain at the Civic Center brought the season total to 12.53. Normal to date is 13.18.

The weather service noted that the front was more moist than unstable, producing steady rain rather than intermittent showers.

There were warnings to motorists of strong, gusty winds in Southern California mountains and deserts. Winds up to 35 m.p.h. at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert compelled a one-day delay of the first National Aeronautics and Space Administration test flight of the $87-million Grumman X-29 experimental jet.

The wind was even stronger in the China Lake area, where gusts up to 55 m.p.h. were reported. In Yucca Valley, west of Twentynine Palms, a television cable was blown onto California 62, but it was quickly removed before there were any serious traffic problems.

Strong winds and heavy snow swept across the Sierra, where Wednesday morning Norden, near Donner Pass, reported 23 inches of snow during the previous 24 hours. Heavy snow was blowing through the passes, reducing visibility.

In the Los Angeles area, the overnight rain caused power failures affecting about 42,600 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers--most of them as the result of trouble at a Hollywood distributing substation. Power was restored by late afternoon.