Storm Hurls Rain, Snow and Hail at Region

A blustery Alaskan storm swept through Southern California on Monday, dumping snow as low as the 700-foot level in the Santa Ynez Valley and tangling traffic on rain-slick freeways in the Los Angeles Basin.

The snow frosted low-lying fields near Los Olivos for the first time in 35 years and piled up 7 inches on the San Marcos Pass, between Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez, blocking California 154 for several hours.

Interstate 5, the state’s principal north-south freeway, was shut down for two hours in the Grapevine area before snowplows were able to clear the pavement.

Angeles Forest Highway through the San Gabriel Mountains remained closed all day, and chains were required at resort levels in the San Bernardino, San Jacinto and Santa Rosa mountains.

Hail whitened lawns in Glendale, La Canada Flintridge, Altadena and Pasadena as hard rain fell throughout Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and San Diego counties.

While forecasters expected this storm to pass by dawn today, there is a chance of more rain and snow Friday.

About 200 traffic accidents occurred in Los Angeles County between 5 and 9 a.m., about triple the normal number for a Monday morning commute. A mudslide blocked Malibu Canyon Road for about an hour.

Storm runoff caused minor street flooding in Thousand Oaks, “but nothing substantive,” said Ventura County spokeswoman Sandi Wells.

The slippery pavement triggered dozens of fender-benders in Orange County, including four that halted traffic on freeways, prompting SigAlerts.

“It was mayhem out there this morning,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Reeves. “It was the typical early morning madness, with a little rain to add to the problems.”

Roofers welcomed the inclement weather.

“I would say we’ve probably gotten 50% more calls because of the rain,” said Chris Keil, president of A1 All American Roofing in Northridge.

The rain also helped firefighters snuff out the remnants of a wind-driven blaze that charred 123 acres of brushy hillside near homes in the Lake Elsinore area of Riverside County.

Almost 200 firefighters, including a helicopter crew, fought the blaze, which broke out Sunday and briefly threatened several homes. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Jeff House, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times, said Monday’s stormy weather resulted from at least a temporary shift in weather patterns.

For much of the winter, persistent high pressure systems over the Pacific have blocked the southern migration of storms from the Gulf of Alaska. These storms have headed directly inland, over the Pacific Northwest.

While places like Seattle and Portland, Ore., have had lots of rain, Los Angeles is experiencing one of the driest winters on record.

During the last few days, however, the high pressure has retreated out to sea, allowing high-altitude jet stream winds to dip farther south and funnel Monday’s storm directly into Southern California.

By nightfall Monday, 0.45 of an inch of rain had fallen at the Civic Center, raising the total for the season--which runs from July 1 through June 30--to 4.78 inches. The normal total for the season on March 15 is 12.35 inches. Last year on that date, the season’s total was 23.59 inches.

Other daily rainfall totals as of 5 p.m. Monday included 0.51 of an inch in Van Nuys, 0.56 in Redondo Beach, 0.62 in Pasadena, 0.64 in Thousand Oaks, 0.67 in Long Beach, 0.69 in Culver City, 0.70 in Glendale, 0.79 in Burbank, 0.80 in Arcadia, 0.83 in Santa Barbara, 0.98 in Sepulveda Canyon, 1.85 inches in Santa Ynez and 2.51 inches in Lompoc.

The 5 p.m. snowfall totals included 4 inches at Mt. Wilson, 8 inches at Frasier Park and close to a foot at some resorts in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains.

House said skies today should be mostly clear by midmorning, but temperatures will stay on the cool side, with highs from the mid-50s to the mid-60s.

Times correspondents Neda Raouf in the San Fernando Valley and Jason Kandel in Orange County contributed to this story.