SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - Winter is continuing to leave a white blanket across parts of California as an unusually strong and cold storm system is in the forecast. The winter weather system will be blowing across most of the United States in the upcoming days with strong winds and power outages already hitting California’s Bay Area.

“All this weather will definitely wreak havoc for harvesting, but we are working ahead to make sure we avoid any outages/gaps heading into next week,” remarked Anthony Innocenti, Managing Partner for LIV Produce.

Jeff Oberman, California Avocado Commission's President, also shared a comment on the weather.

"The California Avocado Commission is cautiously optimistic that the upcoming storm will bring additional welcome rainfall this season without also bringing with it damaging winds," Oberman noted. "California avocado season is approaching, and many growers are waiting to harvest until the expected peak season from April through July. We’re hoping for California sunshine to follow this storm."

Greg Southworth, Vice President of Farming Operations for Country Sweet Produce, also shared his perspective on the storm. 

"The forecast is estimating 2.5” of rain between Friday and next Wednesday. We sustained a heavy windstorm overnight that caused our sweet potato hotbed plastic to be strewn about. Repair and re-covering are taking place prior to rain. We have paused transplanting fruiting crops and estimate it could put us one week behind schedule," he noted. 

The National Weather Service in Los Angeles issued a winter storm warning for the Ventura County Mountains and the Los Angeles County Mountains until early Friday. A blizzard warning for the same areas will take over from Friday through Saturday.

According to a report from The New York Times, almost all of the country is experiencing some form of notable weather this week. Tens of millions of Americans were under winter weather alerts from California to Maine. Conditions such as strong winds, heavy snow, frigid temperatures, and freezing rain will most likely disrupt travel on the roads and in the skies.

Temperatures will be significantly lower across the California region, dipping 10–20 degrees below average, reported The Orange County Register. Some areas, such as San Bernardino and Santa Clarita, will see nighttime lows in the mid-30s. Temperatures will likely not break the mid-50s in any area for several days.

“There is a really strong storm system that will be racing down the West Coast,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Elizabeth Schenk. “It’s a super dynamic system that is pulling a lot of cold weather from the north. It’s hard to put an upper limit on the snow. It’s a really remarkable system.”

Areas around 2,000 feet in elevation and above in the Inland Empire saw a mix of rain and snow as soon as Tuesday night. Lower-elevation areas in Los Angeles will see light rain into Wednesday. The mountains could see several feet of snow accumulation.

Stay up to speed with ANUK as we keep an eye on weather and its impacts on growing regions.