Weakened Storm Drifts Into L.A.

Sierra Nevada communities were digging out Friday after a powerful New Year’s Day storm dumped as much as 40 inches of new snow on ski resorts and raked California’s tallest mountains with hurricane-force winds that topped 120 mph.

The storm blocked Interstate 80 and U.S. 50, the main highways between Northern California and Nevada, for several hours late Thursday and apparently caused the derailment of an Amtrak train left stranded through much of the night atop Donner Pass. But there were no reports of injuries or major structural damage.

The storm lost much of its punch before reaching the Los Angeles area Friday morning.

Light rain and snow fell on Southern California -- enough to dampen streets and frost mountains but not enough to cause mudslides and flash floods like those that killed 16 people last month where fire had left slopes bare in the San Bernardino Mountains.

In the High Sierra on Friday, vehicles with chains were permitted back on I-80 and U.S. 50 in Placer and El Dorado counties, but icy pavement made progress slow.

Residents of Truckee and the resort towns around Lake Tahoe spent much of the day digging out from drifts that snarled traffic and buried many homes and businesses window-deep in snow.

The Amtrak train resumed its journey to Oakland before dawn Friday after railway workers lifted three sets of wheels back on the tracks.

Passengers had to endure about three hours without heat and electricity while the train was being reassembled.

Officials said the snowpack was 14 to 20 feet deep at Alpine Meadows, more than 50% above normal.

The snowpack is vital to Southern California, which receives much of its water from Sierra runoff.

The storm should be over by this morning, but cold, blustery winds are forecast below Southern California’s canyons tonight, with temperatures dipping close to freezing at the coldest locations in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys.

The National Weather Service said no more rain is expected in the Los Angeles area until the middle of next week, when there is a slight chance of showers.

Friday’s storm dropped 0.44 of an inch of rain on downtown Los Angeles, raising the total for the rainfall season, which begins July 1, to 3.12 inches. The normal total by Jan. 2 is 3.87 inches. Several Southland mountain resort areas reported several inches of new snow.

The California Highway Patrol said there were more than 150 minor traffic accidents Friday on rain-slick freeways in the Los Angeles area, about twice as many as the previous Friday, when the pavement was dry.

The rains were light in San Bernardino County on Friday, but residents of the mudslide-threatened Lytle Creek area continued to work through the drizzle, cutting trenches and stacking sandbags to divert possible runoff from future storms.

Times staff writer Hugo Martin and the Associated Press contributed to this report.