PHOTOS: Dust Devil Causes Damage Outside Rose Bowl; Storm Brings Snow to Nevada, Arizona

By Katy Galimberti, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

December 31, 2014; 8:03 PM ET

As a robust storm invaded Southern California and the Southwest, snow and icy roads became a widespread sight early Wednesday morning.
The storm was ushered in with harsh winds, resulting in knocked down trees and power outages. In San Francisco, power was cut to thousands on Wednesday due to violent winds and fallen trees tearing through power lines.
On Wednesday afternoon, four people were injured after strong winds destroyed tents outside the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, ABC7 in Los Angeles reported.
There was a wind gust of around 29 mph observed from Whitman Airport, about 19 miles away in Pacoima, at 1:47 p.m. PST, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Becky Elliot said. Sustained winds were between 10-15 mph at the time, she added.
(Video/Instagram user Bethan_eeee)
(YouTube Video/adsport)
The damage was caused by a dust devil only without the dust, according to Mike Smith, Senior Vice President of AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions.
For higher elevation areas, heavy snow piled on major roadways and created travel nightmares for drivers. Portions of the Interstate 15 through California in Riverside and San Bernardino counties were closed early Wednesday due to heavy snow. Other roadways also faced similar conditions with more than 100 cars reportedly stuck in snow on Highway 138 near Crestline, California.
Another 100 cars were stranded on Highway 74 near Lakeland Village, California, due to packed snow and lanes littered with downed trees.
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I-40 through Arizona also faced closures on Wednesday as crews worked diligently to clear snow and ice from the major roadway.
More than 5 inches of snow fell in two hours on Wednesday morning near Flagstaff, Arizona, bringing some snow totals into the double digits.
Storm snow totals reached as high as 12 inches in Palomar Observatory, California, on Wednesday. Julian, California, roughly 50 miles from San Diego, recorded 9 inches of snow as of 8 a.m. PST Wednesday.
After receiving a trace of snow, Las Vegas tied the record for most snow ever on on New Year's Eve.
California

Julian, Calif., road crews worked to clear roadways of heavy snow on Wednesday, Dec. 31. (Photo/@10News)
Julian, Calif., residents woke to heavy snow on Wednesday morning to close out 2014. (Photo/@10News)
A rare snow fell overnight in Temecula, Calif., with several inches reported in nearby Murrieta. (Photo/Eduardo Lozano)
Snow covered this vineyard in Temecula, Calif., (Photo/Twitter user @grace302)
Nevada
A dusting of snow started to cover the ground in Las Vegas Wednesday morning. (Twitter Photo/Liberalibrarian)
Arizona
Snow-packed roads created travel delays for some along I-93 like this motorist headed to Las Vegas. (Twitter Photo/Keshav Mathur)
Plows worked on roadways near the Grand Canyon with up to 3 inches along some area roadways. (Photo/Grand Canyon National Park Service)
Snow covered palm trees in Lake Havasu City on Wednesday morning. (Photo/Twitter user @LKlettenberg)