The United States continues to writhe under the effects of winter storms - which still wreak havoc - and now, a powerful Pacific storm has rocked the west coast, leaving thousands of people without power.
On Sunday, the Pacific storm reared its ugly head in Southern California and knocked out the power supply of several thousands in San Diego.
The intense winds also knocked down trees that led to road blocks and damaged some houses. In Pacific Beach, a tree, 4 feet in diameter, fell in front of a house and crashed on three parked cars, and hitting the fourth car, which just passing the area. The woman in the car was declared dead by the authorities.
The severe rains and ferocious winds also led to Southern California plunging into darkness as over 150,000 people lost power supply thanks to the storm.
Local media report that nearly 38,000 San Diego Gas & Electric customers are without power. The outage was partly because of the raging winds knocking down some power poles. The disruption in the power supply was completely weather related.
Several hundred work crews braved the cold and harsh climate and were busy attempting to reinstate the power supply of people who were stranded and stormed in.
Weather forecasters revealed that the powerful winds notched up speeds of as high as 52 mph in San Diego. Whitaker Peak encountered wind gusts as powerful as 115 mph, whereas Beverly Hills and Malibu Canyon faced wind gusts that clocked 61 mph and 65 mph, respectively.
Los Angeles and Ventura counties were hit by wind gusts that clocked in at 70 mph. The downed power lines were responsible for close to 41,000 customers of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power losing power supply.
The National Weather Service said that the system is anticipated to drop approximately 1 inch rain in San Diego, early Feb. 1. The weather condition is anticipated to turn colder and will lead to the production of several inches of snow in the region's highest mountain tops.
A flash flood warning was also issued for areas in Southern California that were burning not too long ago. The National Weather Service warned that rainfall rates of as little as half an inch each hour was "just enough to bring" tree branches, mud, and rocks sliding down the hillside.
