Soggy Christmas for Some, White One for Skiers

Skiers got their wish for a white one, but everyone else was stuck with a wet Christmas as a slow-moving storm dropped just over an inch of rain on Southern California on Sunday.

Thunder, lightning and scattered power outages hit the area, along with a small funnel cloud off Santa Catalina Island.

The overnight precipitation meant that chains were needed above 4,000 feet in the mountains. Ski resorts reported eight to 10 inches of fresh snow.

Several accidents were reported on rain-slicked freeways over the weekend, including a 10-car accident on the San Bernardino Freeway near Alhambra on Saturday night, said California Highway Patrol Officer Karen Faciane.

Later that evening, a Greyhound bus carrying 26 people, including an infant, collided with a van and two other vehicles on the northbound Hollywood Freeway near Universal City.

There were no injuries in either accident.

A flash flood warning was issued for western Los Angeles County after more than an inch of rain fell in some regions. Residents of Malibu and other areas denuded by wildfires were urged to watch for mudslides, but county fire officials reported no problems.

A cold front moving eastward from the central Pacific Ocean was responsible for the statewide inclement weather, said Bruce Rockwell of the National Weather Service regional center in Oxnard.

As the storm system ambled into Nevada, showers and partly cloudy skies persisted throughout Sunday.

Analysts from WeatherData Inc., which provides weather information to The Times, predicted mostly sunny days ahead, with highs in the low 60s and a slight chance of showers Wednesday.