LOS ANGELES (AP) — An unusually strong storm system called an atmospheric river was dousing Southern California on Saturday, prompting flood warnings in areas of coastal Los Angeles County that recently were ravaged by wildfire. The National Weather Service in Los Angeles and Oxnard reported heavy rainfall Saturday at rates as high as one inch (2.5 centimeters) per hour in coastal areas prone to flash flooding. On Friday, more than four inches of rain fell over coastal Santa Barbara County as the storm approached Los Angeles, with the National Weather Service urging people to stay indoors amid heavy winds.
The long plume of tropical moisture that formed over the Pacific Ocean began drenching the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday and unleashed widespread rain over Southern California on Friday and Saturday, with more than a foot of snow predicted for parts of the Sierra Nevada. Flood warnings extended from the Ventura County coast, through Malibu and into the City of Los Angeles.
Due to the potential for debris flows, an Evacuation Warning remains in effect within and around all recent burn scar areas, with select vulnerable properties under Evacuation Orders according to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in a Saturday-morning social media post. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for high-risk properties in the Palisades and Eaton fire burn areas from Friday evening to Sunday morning, with law enforcement personnel instructed to encourage residents to evacuate.
The long plume of tropical moisture that formed over the Pacific Ocean began drenching the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday and unleashed widespread rain over Southern California on Friday and Saturday, with more than a foot of snow predicted for parts of the Sierra Nevada. Flood warnings extended from the Ventura County coast, through Malibu and into the City of Los Angeles.
Due to the potential for debris flows, an Evacuation Warning remains in effect within and around all recent burn scar areas, with select vulnerable properties under Evacuation Orders according to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in a Saturday-morning social media post. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for high-risk properties in the Palisades and Eaton fire burn areas from Friday evening to Sunday morning, with law enforcement personnel instructed to encourage residents to evacuate.
