Storm Scatters Rain, Hail and Snow on Southland

An unstable mass of air trailing Thursday’s chilly storm dropped scattered rain, hail and snow on Southern California on Friday evening, and forecasters said a new storm should bring more precipitation tonight and Sunday.

Despite briefly heavy rain in a number of areas Friday, there were no reports of new mudslides on the hillsides that were denuded during last fall’s destructive brush fires in Malibu, Altadena and Laguna Beach. There were some slides in Malibu on Thursday, but damage was generally light.

Pea-size hail was reported during a blustery thundershower in Banning on Friday, and National Weather Service observers said their radar showed ice pellets in several cloudbursts.

Officials said heavy snow fell Friday afternoon in Idyllwild, Wrightwood and Big Bear City, with as much as six inches piling up in some areas by nightfall.

Snow levels as low as 3,000 feet, with temperatures dropping into the 20s, were reported in some parts of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains Friday night. Police said driving conditions were hazardous in most mountain areas.

No measurable rain had fallen at the Los Angeles Civic Center by 5 p.m., the time at which each day’s last measurements are reported. The 0.77 of an inch that fell there Thursday raised the total for the season--which is measured from July 1 to June 30--to 4.41 inches, less than half the normal season’s total for the date and about one-fifth of the 21.85 inches that had fallen by Feb. 18 last year.

Forecasters said the center of the new storm will pass to the north of the Los Angeles area, with only about half an inch of rain expected in the city and perhaps twice that much in some foothill communities by Sunday afternoon. They said there is a slight chance of a few additional sprinkles through Monday, with skies clearing Tuesday.

Temperatures should remain on the chilly side in Los Angeles today, Sunday and Monday, with highs ranging from the mid-50s to the low 60s. High readings in the upper 60s and low 70s are expected Tuesday.