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Snow in southern California as cold snap grips US
2007-01-18
Snow has fallen in normally balmy southern California, as Americans coped with a deadly nationwide cold snap that has left hundreds of thousands in the dark and caused billions in crop damage. More than 60 deaths across nine states were blamed on the harsh weather, US media reported Thursday, mostly in car accidents as drivers lost control of their vehicles on icy roads. A layer of snow on Wednesday blanketed hills in Malibu, a seaside town near Los Angeles popular with entertainment industry celebrities. The town is situated by the Pacific Ocean and is famous for its beaches and year-round sunshine. Snow also fell on parts of metropolitan Los Angeles, with the upmarket neighborhood of Westwood receiving a dusting of flakes as the unseasonably low temperatures continued across California. The six-day regional cold snap "took a surreal turn" with the snow, the Los Angeles Times said, adding that chilly temperatures were forecast for Thursday. The weather even forced transport authorities to close portions of a major California highway that links Los Angeles to the state capital Sacramento. The stretch remained close early Thursday. California's temperatures have plunged to near-record lows, prompting Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare a state of emergency. The cold snap has devastated California's citrus fruit industry, with authorities forecasting losses of more than one billion dollars because of the damage to crops. Unusually low temperatures hit most of the southwestern state of Texas, with up to 7.6 centimeters (three inches) of snow accumulating in Dallas, and ice and freezing rain forcing schools to close in San Antonio and Houston. A quarter of all flights from the busy Dallas airport were canceled Wednesday due to the low temperatures, local media reported, with service expected to resume normally on Thursday. Ice was the most dangerous regional culprit: accumulated snow and hail that melted during the day would freeze at night, creating treacherous roads. Low temperatures are expected to remain for the next days, weather forecasters said. Meanwhile some 300,000 people in the midwest and northeastern US were without power, including about 100,000 in Missouri and 92,000 in Oklahoma, CNN reported. President George W. Bush declared an emergency in Oklahoma on Sunday and in Misouri on Monday, freeing up federal funding for recovery efforts. Oklahoma state governor Brad Henry toured areas hit by the ice storm, The Oklahoman newspaper reported Thursday. "It looks like a war zone," Henry told the newspaper. "It's hard to imagine ice could cause so much damage." Recovery is expected to last for weeks or months, the newspaper reported. Ice is expected to cause serious problems Thursday in South Carolina and as far south as Atlanta, forecasters said, with National Weather Service posting ice and freezing rain advisories across the region. In the northwestern states of Oregon and Washington, thousands stayed home on Wednesday after a heavy snowfall a day earlier -- but forecasts Thursday called for snow and freezing rain. Portland city crews worked around the clock plowing, sanding and de-icing streets, though most streets are expected to remain icy and snow-covered for days, the Portland Oregonian newspaper reported Thursday.
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