California storm snarls post-Christmas travel

Southern California had a white Christmas a day late, closing major highways on one of the busiest travel days of the year. A winter storm system moved across the Southwest, bringing snow, ice, and a tornado to the region. The storm is blamed for at least one death: A 60-year-old woman in San Diego County died on Thursday when the car she was traveling in slid off the road into a snowbank.

How much trouble did the storm cause? The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down in Ventura County on Thursday, and some higher elevations outside Los Angeles had up to 2 feet of snow. Snow and ice stranded close to 150 cars on Interstate 5 on Wednesday night, and the main artery through Southern California remained closed on Friday morning. But meteorologist Andrew Orrison told WORLD Radio the storm is a blessing in disguise: “That snowfall will eventually melt once we get into the later part of the winter and into spring, and that will help to replenish the reservoirs for the water supply.”

Dig deeper: Follow the latest conditions at the National Weather Service website.