Dec. 30, 2004
By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer
Yahoo News


LOS ANGELES - A slow-rolling series of storms that battered the West this week brought snowfall and high wind Thursday to parts of California, where weather-weary residents have already endured lashing rain, heavy snowfall and a destructive tornado.

Since the wild weather began slogging ashore Monday, five deaths in California and two in Colorado have been blamed on storms.

On Thursday, up to a foot of snow fell on Colorado mountains, and northern Nevada was expecting as much as 7 feet on top of the 2-3 feet that already had fallen.

Conditions were improving Thursday in Arizona, as water levels quickly fell in a Sedona-area creek that had fattened from a trickle into a river of mud, forcing a dozen neighborhoods to evacuate. Damage assessments was expected to begin Thursday.

Large recreational vehicles had floated down another creek in Page Springs, and two students disappeared after their canoe capsized in Prescott.

A body found Thursday was believed to be one of the students; the other remained missing.

California had been taking the brunt of the Pacific barrage, and more rain and wind were forecast for the Northern California coast by Thursday night.

Inland, a winter storm warning was posted around Lake Tahoe on the Northern California-Nevada line. A combination of heavy snow and wind gusting to 100 mph over the higher elevations shut down Interstate 80 and U.S. 50 overnight.

Scattered showers were forecast Thursday in Southern California, where two days of downpours have brought up to 12 inches of rain and scores of highway accidents.

In southern Nevada, more than 1 1/2 inches of rain fell in 24 hours at the Las Vegas airport — a third of the city's normal yearly total — and hundreds of accidents were reported.

As the storm moved east, three Colorado highways were closed, one from accidents and two by avalanches.

Elsewhere, freezing rain put an icy layer on roads in the northern Plains early Thursday, sending vehicles into ditches.

"It's even very dangerous for people to try and walk," North Dakota Highway Patrol Sgt. Jim Prochniak said.

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