Drivers spend night stuck in Portland, Oregon snow

A coast-to-coast storm that paralyzed roads and blacked out nearly 1 million homes and businesses was set to pound California on Friday, sparking warnings about floods and blizzards. The National Weather Service warned of a “cold and dangerous winter storm" through Saturday.

As much as 5 feet of snow could fall in some mountains near Los Angeles, which could create whiteout conditions as winds gust to 75 mph and an increased risk of avalanches, forecasters said. The weather service issued rare blizzard warnings for Southern California mountain areas and urged drivers to avoid dangerous roads.