Storm Takes a Parting Shot, Heads East

The pre-winter storm that dumped deep snow on California mountains and high deserts slid eastward Tuesday to make trouble in neighboring states, but not without some soggy parting punches at the Southland, including at least two waterspouts that came ashore to rip structures in San Diego County.

Travelers’ advisories were still in effect for the Sierra Nevada, where the big storm dropped up to five feet of snow on Monday. Motorists were also being cautioned in the Southern California mountain ranges above 2,500 feet, and in the Owens Valley, Antelope Valley, Mojave Desert and Death Valley.

Stranded hunters, lost hikers and overdue fliers were being sought in the thick snows of at least half a dozen California counties.

Small Tornado

In San Diego County, where the storm caused havoc for a second day Tuesday, a waterspout came in off the ocean at Encinitas at 6:45 a.m. to become a small tornado and rip the roof off a two-story home, dropping it on a parked car. Another roof was damaged and the twister then damaged several acres of greenhouses.

Another waterspout went ashore at Oceanside about the same time, stripping the roof from an air-conditioning firm. There were no injuries in either episode.

One effect of the unusually cold storm was snow in low areas of Riverside and San Bernardino counties early Tuesday. It fell below the 2,500-foot level at Highland, Devore, Yucaipa, Redlands, Banning, Hemet and other communities.

It snowed in parts of downtown Riverside, which hadn’t seen the stuff in 36 years. And it even snowed in Sun City.

Throughout the early morning hours, rooftops turned white and early risers were surprised. In Moreno Valley, about seven miles east of Riverside, children and adults took to the streets at dawn, building snowmen and walloping friends and neighbors with snowballs.

All this, and winter doesn’t officially begin until Dec. 21.

With the first significant snowfall in the Southern California mountains, most ski resort operators were ready to open for business.

The storm had dropped .90 of an inch of rain on downtown Los Angeles by the time it departed for points east Tuesday morning. That brought the rainfall total for the season to 1.51 inches, the National Weather Service said.

Continued Clearing

Tuesday’s high Civic Center temperature was 56 degrees. The overnight low was 42. Relative humidity ranged between 86% and 40%.

The clearing trend should continue today, forecasters said, with temperatures climbing slightly after a chilly overnight low of 40 degrees downtown. Highs today in the coastal areas should be mostly in the low to mid-60s.

Mountain areas were expected to be extremely cold overnight, with temperatures in the colder valleys near zero.

Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming all were getting heavy snowfall as the cold weather front headed across the Central Rockies into the Central Plains.

Two feet of snow were recorded by mid-morning at Utah’s Alta ski resort and in Arizona, north of the Grand Canyon.

Winter storm warnings and travelers’ advisories were issued for many areas of those states.

At Yosemite National Park, a helicopter dropped supplies to a climber stranded about 500 feet below the summit of El Capitan after a blizzard dropped nearly three feet of snow at the park. The climber, who was not identified, had been scaling the 3,593-foot face of the big rock for 13 days. He reported he was short of food and was suffering from frostbite.

Authorities said they hoped he would be able to finish the climb on his own.

Fifty to 75 elk hunters walked to safety Tuesday in Washington state’s Cascades, but as many as 250 others were believed stranded by up to four feet of snow that fell on the range. Army helicopters from Ft. Lewis were searching the eastern slopes.

The Yakima County sheriff’s office said a woman, Ida Winston, 60, was found dead of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning in the pickup truck in which she and her husband were believed to have kept the engine running for warmth. Her husband, William, 60, was airlifted to Yakima Memorial Hospital, where he was reported in critical but stable condition.

Plane Wreck Spotted

In Placer County about 20 miles northeast of Auburn, searchers reached the wreckage of a single-engine plane that had been spotted from the air after being missing since Saturday with three members of a Martinez family aboard. There apparently were no survivors.

Placer County Sheriff’s Sgt. Keven Besana said the body of a man was found, but it was not immediately identified. He said the other two passengers were presumed to have been thrown clear and buried in snow piled five to six feet deep.

Aboard the plane were David Perrin, 51, his wife, Judy, and their son, Michael, 27.

Times staff writers Louis Sahagun in Riverside and H.G. Reza in San Diego contributed to this article.