Storm

The weekend storm is gone and temperatures will warm up as the week progresses, the National Weather Service said Monday. Residents can expect rain and snow to stop if it hasn't already, and skies should be clear until at least Friday, said NWS weather specialist Stuart Seto. Monday will see highs of 60 downtown; temperatures are expected to spike to 68 on Tuesday and remain in the upper 60s the rest of the week. In the tri-city region, daytime highs are expected to hit the mid-70s by midweek, according to the weather service.

Here comes the rain. The National Weather Service says rain is expected to move into Southern California on Friday night and make for wet conditions through the weekend. The "relatively weak" storm will move in Friday and gain momentum Saturday morning, said meteorologist Rich Thompson of the National Weather Service office in Oxnard. "It's not a tremendous amount of rainfall," Thompson said, estimating 1 to three fourths of an inch will fall in the central areas and about 1 inch in the mountains.

The catch basins that Raymond Minassian is talking about in a letter to the editor (“Plants are growing in run-off basins,” Oct. 17) belongs to Los Angeles County Public Works. I gave them a call to pass his concern about the growing plant inside the catch basin. The city of Glendale owns 1,354 catch basins and several open channels and has two full-time workers dedicated to the city's storm drain system. We inspect and clean each one at least once per year. By the time the cleaning is completed it's possible that the drains are dirty again, way before the next cleaning cycle.

Our family returned this week from the Bahamas. It was a trip that was a long time in coming. When we first saved up for it, then booked it, my daughter ended up in the hospital. We had to cancel, much to the disappointment of my other children. So finally everyone was healthy and off we went. We were very thankful to be going. I felt so appreciative to God for this trip, knowing he truly helped us pull it off. The first thing we did when we arrived was put on our swim suits, run to the beach, and dash into the bathtub-temperature water yelling and giggling, “The Bahamas!

LA CRESCENTA — A rainstorm Monday caused no mudflows or flood problems in communities surrounding the burned hillsides here, but public safety officials have turned their attention to Thursday, when another storm is expected to present its own set of challenges. Although rain counts yielded more than an inch of water, including 1.4 inches in the Briggs Terrace neighborhood, those totals presented little safety threats because they came during a 12-hour period, said Bob Gregg, a local water observer for the Los Angeles County Flood Control District “It fell fairly steadily over a long period of time,” Gregg said.

A man who was apparently homeless was found stabbed to death Saturday evening in a San Fernando Valley storm drainage channel, police said Sunday. The man, a Latino believed to be between 25 and 30 years old, had been stabbed in the chest, according to Los Angeles Police Sgt. Trina Bluff of the Van Nuys station. The man was found south of Victory Boulevard, near Ethel Avenue, on the eastern side of the Tujunga Wash, which, in the Valley, is essentially a large concrete-lined storm drainage channel that runs from Hansen Dam south to Studio City, where it joins the Los Angeles River.

Local mountains could see snow levels drop to 3,500 feet as a new colder storm front moves in today. Rainfall totals should average approximately 1 inch, but could be higher in some areas. This new weather system is not expected to be as strong as the weekend storm that the pummeled the area, causing street flooding and toppling trees, according to the National Weather Service. Still, up to 8 inches of snow could fall on local mountains, with the potential for more when a second storm front moves in late Thursday, according to the weather agency.

The bulk of the slow-moving storm churning its way across the Southland should pass the local area by this afternoon, weather forecasters say. The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for the Angeles National Forest through 8 p.m. as those living in the foothills brace for what could be periods of heavy rain within the Station fire burn area. Rain totals could reach up to 2 inches in some mountain areas, with the snow level dropping to between 5,500 and 6,500 feet through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

The tri-city region could see storm cells capable of producing “brief heavy downpours,” hail and “dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning” Thursday evening as a weather system moves across the Southland, according to the National Weather Service. Although there's a 50% chance of rain today, the brunt of the storm isn't expected to hit until tonight, with up to 3 inches of snow possible at elevations above 7,000 feet, the weather service said. Daytime temperatures in the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena area are expected to remain the high-60s to low-70s, but are due to climb on Friday and through the weekend after the storm moves out. By Saturday, expect mostly clear skies with high temperatures in the mid-80s, according to the National Weather Service.

Strong winds that whipped through Glendale Monday night caused a small tree fire and minor property damage, officials reported. Wires that got caught in tree limbs started a small blaze in a tree in the 1600 block of Ramona Avenue, according to Steve Zurn, who heads public works and Glendale Water & Power. A downed tree caused minor damage to a home on Cottage Grove Avenue and a broken limb damaged a car, Zurn added. No major damage was reported, although there were plenty of fallen palm fronds and street debris.

Wind gusts topping 70 mph were recorded Monday afternoon as Southern California was buffeted by a major Santa Ana wind event. The National Weather Service said the high winds were causing dust storms and had created zero-visibility conditions in some desert areas. In Lancaster, winds were clocked at 70 mph amid a sand storm. In Imperial County, a 73 mph gust was reported. Scattered power outages were also reported. A high-wind advisory is in effect across Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley, where gusts could peak at 45 mph, said weather service meteorologist Andrew Rorke.

Faced with widespread public opposition, Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday sent a proposed parcel fee to combat storm water pollution back to the drawing board. The proposed fee would be levied on all property owners within the county's flood control district, raising an estimated $290 million a year to help cities and the county deal with widespread water quality issues stemming from polluted storm water and urban runoff and the need to comply with new state regulations, the L.A. Times reported . But it faced strong opposition, including from local school districts, which for the first time would be taxed for the program.

A late winter storm is bringing rain and possibly thunderstorms to Southern California on Thursday and Friday, along with up to eight inches of snow in the mountains. Rainfall amounts will vary, with the potential for brief heavy downpours and small hail, according to the National Weather Service. The snow level will be in the 3,000- to 4,000-foot range, with four to eight inches likely above 5,000 feet. The roads that could be affected by snowfall include Interstate 5 near the Grapevine, Highway 14 through Soledad Canyon, Highway 138 in the Antelope Valley and Highway 33 in the Ventura County mountains.

A cold, blustery storm originating from the Gulf of Alaska is expected to move down the California coast Tuesday, creating traffic headaches in some places, authorities warned. Possible thunderstorms were expected to affect most of the Southland, bringing between one-tenth to half an inch of rain in most areas, the L.A. Times reported. Snow could fall as low as 1,500 feet, and there was high potential for icy roadways, including Interstate 5 from the Grapevine to the Santa Clarita Valley, according to the National Weather Service.

Snow has closed the Grapevine in both directions Friday. The closure is at the Grapevine summit, and officials said they don't know when Interstate 5 will reopen. The National Weather Service said snow will drop to the 2,000-foot level, according to the L.A. Times. "A cold storm system will push southward from the Gulf of Alaska across the forecast area today through tonight. Snow levels will plummet to 2000-3000 feet today. Elevations above 4000 feet can expect between 6 and 10 inches of snow, with lesser amounts across the Santa Barbara mountains and lower elevations," the weather service said in a statement.

Cool and breezy conditions are expected to give way to another rainstorm later this week, but forecasters say it should be mostly clear and brisk by New Year's Day and the all-important Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena. Gusty northwest winds were expected for some areas through Thursday morning with most of the region experiencing fair weather Thursday and Friday, said experts with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Many areas will experience 15- to 25-mph winds, they said, and the Antelope Valley and the mountains should see west to northwest winds of up to 45 mph. A winter weather advisory was issued for Thursday until 10 a.m., with blistery snow showers expected on north facing mountain slopes in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

In order to avoid steep fines, Glendale plans to install hundreds of storm drain screens to keep trash from getting into the Los Angeles River. The City Council has approved spending $100,000 more, bringing the total cost for 579 screens to $150,000. The screens are required by the state's water quality control board, which requires cities to block trash from getting into the river. The screens prevent trash as small as 5 millimeters in diameter from entering the storm drain system.

It's going to be a cold, wet week ahead as the first of two storm fronts blows into the region on Wednesday. Forecasters say rain is likely on Wednesday, with a continued chance of rain through Thursday before breaking up into mostly cloudy conditions, according to the National Weather Service. Daytime temperatures, meanwhile, will likely remain in the low-60s. A brief respite from rainy conditions on Friday will give way to second storm system on Saturday, which will bring a strong chance of rain through Monday, according to the weather service.

A strange sound has been emanating from Vanes "Nightmare" Martirosyan's camp over the past weeks - silence. Never one to shy away from talking trash or baiting opponents, the Glendale resident has maintained a decidedly low public profile since his World Boxing Council light middleweight final eliminator bout with Erislandy Lara became a done deal. So what happened to the fighter who had spent months calling out Lara and other top fighters in the 154-pound division, once even promising in an interview to break Lara's ribs and send him to the hospital?