Southern California faces a dangerous flood threat as heavy rain targets the Los Angeles and San Diego areas through Thursday.
The overall rainfall amounts combined with the potential for bursts of thunderstorm-triggered heavier rain, especially over recent wildfire burn-scar areas, has prompted NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) to put much of Southern California at a Level 3 out of 4 risk of flash flooding for a second day in the region.
A Flood Watch has been issued along the coast and stretches from Santa Barbara south through Los Angeles to San Diego.
For many communities, the precipitation is the heaviest rainfall event since the remnants of Hurricane Hilary impacted the region in August.
Significant flash flooding was ongoing early Thursday morning in the Oxnard area after 3.18 inches of rain fell in one hour, of which 2.25 inches fell in just 30 minutes. Photos shared on social media from Oxnard showed upwards of 2 feet of water on roads.
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By sunrise Thursday, the floodwaters had receded significantly in the Port Hueneme and Oxnard areas. However, due to an unprecedented amount of rainfall – over 3 inches in one hour – a nearby flood control channel could not contain the excess water. This led to severe flooding, with water levels reaching 2-3 feet.
Around 60 homes were flooded, and even a senior living center had to be evacuated. First responders had to evacuate around 20 people and used a high-wheeled vehicle to get them out.
During the peak of the flooding, the public information officer (PIO) of Ventura County Fire reported that they received approximately 275 calls within a span of five hours. This is significantly higher than their usual call volume of less than 200 calls per day.
“This storm was a little bit unique to the Port Hueneme, Oxnard area. This is a coastal community, so it’s rather flat to begin with here by the ocean,” Ventura County Fire PIO Andy VanSciver said. “And so the flood control channels were overwhelmed. I did hear on my response in as I was gathering information both on the police radio and the FM radio that the National Weather Service was reporting that it had received an enormous amount of rain. Sometimes they were saying maybe more than we’ve ever received in the last 30 to 40 years in such a short period of time.”
By the end of the week, between 5 and 8 inches of rain is expected to have fallen in several areas, with some places experiencing even higher amounts. This could result in significant flooding, including flash and urban flooding.
Severe weather jolts residents as Tornado Warnings issued in Ventura County
California residents should also be aware of potential severe weather in addition to flooding.
Early Thursday morning, two Doppler-radar-indicated Tornado Warnings were issued for the Oxnard area in Ventura County, and there could be more to come. These Tornado Warnings were the first issued by the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office during the month of December since 2008.
“At one point, we had over 350,000 people under a Tornado Warning and also a Flash Flood Warning,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin said.
Rain pushes south and east by late Friday
The storm lingers into Friday before finally pushing south and east late in the day near the Mexico border and heading into the Desert Southwest. However, long-range forecasts indicate additional rain is likely in California next week.
Snow blankets the Sierra Nevada
The same system is also dropping heavy snow over the highest elevations of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, with lower snow amounts over the highest elevations of the Washington and Oregon Cascades and parts of Idaho and Nevada
