CHP offers escorts along 5 Freeway in Tejon Pass amid snowfall

California Highway Patrol officers were escorting drivers along the 5 Freeway in the Tejon Pass amid snowfall in the area Thursday as a storm brought heavy rain and flooding to the region.

Snow was visible from north of the Fort Tejon exit on the highway to just south of Gorman as the temperature hovered around 34 degrees, the California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, reported around 8:45 a.m. Maintenance crews were patrolling that area of the roadway in Kern County around the clock, officials said, as a winter storm moved over Southern California.

Heavy rain, snow and gusty winds hit the region over Wednesday night and into Thursday, bringing a tornado that damaged homes in the Pico Rivera area of Los Angeles and flooding in Riverside County, where six people were rescued from mudflows in San Jacinto. 

Caltrans officials have warned of snow and ice expected along the 5 Freeway in the Tejon Pass, with similar conditions forecasted for State Route 14 near Action and State Route 33 north of Ojai in northern Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Those conditions are expected to remain from Wednesday night through Saturday as forecasters issued a winter storm warning for the area. 

Until 5 a.m. Saturday, heavy snow is forecasted in the Tejon Pass, Ventura County mountains, Santa Barbara County interior mountains, eastern San Gabriel Mountains, Highway 14 corridor and Antelope Valley foothills including areas such as Wrightwood, Gorman, Figueroa Mountain and Mount Baldy — with the possibility of 12 to 14 inches of snow in elevations over 6,500 to 7,000 feet.

Further north, in the Sun Valley area of Los Angeles County, flooding led to a partial closure of the 5 freeway, with two lanes on both the southbound and northbound sides of the 5 Freeway shut down along a two-mile stretch. Crews cleared the flooding using water pumps to drain the rainwater, and at 9:40 a.m., Caltrans officials said the lanes were being reopened.