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A major atmospheric-river storm walloping the state with heavy rains, strong winds and major snow has landed in Southern California, bringing what forecasters say is likely to become the region’s worst Christmas storm in recent memory.
“This is a long-duration event, so we’re going to be having the cumulative effects of rain,” said Ariel Cohen, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Oxnard office. He said there was a high potential for widespread, life-threatening flooding as well as dangerous rock and mudslides, among other risks.
“It might be best to stay indoors during this event,” Cohen said. “This is a lot of rain that’s going to stack up over multiple days.”
Although rains are expected to intensify throughout the day Tuesday and into the night, concerns over serious flooding are focused on Wednesday — Christmas Eve — as rainfall totals increase, he said. Flooding risks could even stretch through Saturday, as the chance for rain will linger until then.
“It’s going to take less and less rain for there to be more and more impacts as the week progresses,” Cohen said.
HEADS UP!!! Dangerous weather this week!!! Take the time now to prepare and NEVER drive through flooded roadways!!! pic.twitter.com/B6oSqcyrnc
The storm already has caused dangerous flooding and massive surf across Northern California, leading to at least two deaths, and officials warn that the storm is just getting started.
Most of the state remains under a several-days-long flood watch, and on Tuesday morning, Southern California officials started issuing evacuation warnings and orders for residents near recent burn scars, including from the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth, Bridge, Agua Dulce, Lidia, Canyon, Sunset and Hurst fires.
Officials across Los Angeles County were working to directly contact residents of almost 400 homes, many near the Palisades and Eaton fire burn scars, to order them to leave immediately due to a heightened threat of debris flows and rock- and mudslides.
“It’s important we stay alert, stay vigilant and keep each other safe,” L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis said at a news conference Tuesday about county preparations.
At a public works yard in Altadena, cars lined up as workers in neon high-vision vests loaded sandbags into trucks beds and hatchbacks.
For those staying put, preparing for disaster has become second nature.
Pasadena resident Jim Seraco grabbed a few bags Tuesday afternoon to line his cellar, which flooded in a storm last month.
“It’s better to be prepared than not,” he said.
Dave Racs and childhood friends Jose Chirivella and Gary Sewell spent Tuesday placing sandbags and straw erosion wattles on his Altadena lot, where his home burned in the fire. After spending most of the year bouncing among friends’ and family members’ couches, he now lives in a camper on his lot.
“I’m gonna have to hunker down for a few days all by myself. It’s gonna be a little bit lonely, but I got the pets,” he said. “It’s not ideal, but I think I feel more comfortable here than when I was couch surfing and walking on eggshells.”
The three friends used a small digger to direct water away from the garden and the camper and hauled in a layer of gravel to stave off mud.
Amid storm prep, Racs has been rebuilding his garden, setting stones he collected over decades and shaping the land by hand. With rain expected to pummel the Southland through the holiday weekend, Racs said he would watch the water and trust the work he and his friends put in.
“When you live in a trailer, you’ve gotta make a little spot for yourself,” he said. “You deal with what’s in front of you.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Weather Prediction Center elevated the flash flood risk to high for Wednesday across a large swath of southwest California, particularly the southern slopes of the Santa Monica, San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains. Much of the L.A. Basin, as well as Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks, San Bernardino and Santa Barbara, are included in that high-risk zone, the agency said.
“We could see widespread flash flooding,” said Kristan Lund, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. She warned that the heavy rains over such a long period probably would cause a slew of hazards, including cars being swept away, structures taking on water, trees being downed and power going out, plus travel delays — both in the air and on the road.
Key Messages for the Atmospheric River affecting California and adjacent areas have been updated. There is a HIGH RISK of flash flooding Wednesday along the southern slopes of the Transverse Range just outside Los Angeles. Find your local forecast at https://t.co/pGx1JRZLBI. pic.twitter.com/9WajjzjReF
On Sunday, one person died in rising waters as flooding overwhelmed parts of Redding, according to city officials. The mayor reported that police officers tried to save a person in a vehicle as the waters rose around them, but they did not make it out in time.
On Monday afternoon, a woman in her 70s was knocked off a rock and killed by a large wave during a fierce storm at a beach at MacKerricher State Park, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.
In Placer County, a harrowing video has gone viral of officials helping evacuate a family, including a baby in a car seat, from a home near the rapidly rising Yuba River on Sunday.
Officials in Shasta County on Monday declared a state of emergency “due to flooding across numerous … communities” and several more days of forecast storms.
More than a foot of snow had already fallen in parts of the northern Sierra by Monday evening, and officials were warning that travel in and around the mountains would become “difficult to impossible.” Up to 5 feet of snow was forecast for some parts of the Sierra Nevada.
Although snow will be less of a concern in the Southern California mountains for the early part of this week, some ski resorts are forecast to see some fresh powder by Christmas Day. By the weekend, though, the San Bernardino and L.A. County mountains could get several inches of snow.
Severe thunderstorms are increasingly possible Wednesday, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, Central Coast and Central Valley, where the weather service warned that there was also a small chance for tornadoes to develop. Thunderstorms will remain a possibility in Southern California through at least Thursday, which could bring locally heavy pockets of rain and high winds.
Much of the state remains under a high-wind warning, with a chance for winds up to 50 to 80 mph across the Southland from Tuesday through Thursday.
California
At least one person drowned in Redding on Sunday as heavy rainfall and flooding hit Northern California. Southern California is expected to see multiple days of heavy rain this week.
Southern California’s coastal areas and valleys are forecast to get 4 to 6 inches of rain from Tuesday through Saturday. In the foothills and mountains, totals will reach even higher, up to 10 inches of rain over the five-day period.
Good afternoon!!!!
Strong #SoCal storm over the Christmas holiday.
– Rain Tue-Sat
* Heaviest Tue Night-Wed
– FLOOD WATCH Tue Afternoon-Wed Evening
* All 4 counties
* Debris flows and widespread urban flooding possible
– Gusty SE winds Tue-Wed#CAwx pic.twitter.com/RRR7QfQaiE
Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning: This will be the first burst of heavy rainfall, with a chance of thunderstorms, though flooding shouldn’t be an immediate concern. High winds and extreme rain rates are possible.
Wednesday during the day: There could be a bit of a lull between bands of heavy rain.
Wednesday evening into Thursday morning: A second belt of heavy rainfall is expected across Southern California, increasing chances for urban flooding, debris flows and mudslides, especially in burn scars but also across many mountain passes.
Thursday: Continued, heavy rainfall is expected, with ongoing concerns about flooding.
Friday and Saturday: There will still be a chance for additional rainfall and showers, adding to already high rain totals. Dropping temperatures are forecast to bring several inches of snow to Southern California mountains.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and local governments are working to predeploy resources, including air and ground vehicles from the California National Guard, for emergency support and rescue operations, according to the governor’s office.
Officials say the best way is to stay safe is to stay home, if possible, and keep off the roadways, especially away from any flood control channels, catch basins, canyons or natural waterways, which can be vulnerable to flooding.
It’s also important to have multiple avenues to receive emergency alerts, including information about evacuation warnings and orders.
Residents in low-lying areas can set up sandbags, which are being distributed across L.A. County on Tuesday at a variety of locations. More details can be found here.
Times staff writer Noah Goldberg contributed to this report.
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Grace Toohey is a reporter at the Los Angeles Times covering breaking news for the Fast Break Desk. Before joining the newsroom in 2022, she covered criminal justice issues at the Orlando Sentinel and the Advocate in Baton Rouge. Toohey is a Maryland native and proud Terp.
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Gavin J. Quinton is a reporting fellow at the Los Angeles Times. Previously the lead reporter for the Burbank Leader, he has written about financial misconduct by education leaders, localized opioid overdose data, and documented mass evictions in Burbank. In 2024, his investigation into safety and health failures by public library officials triggered systemwide reforms and leadership turnover. Quinton holds a journalism degree from Cal State L.A. and has written for LAist, the Los Angeles Business Journal, KnockLA and PBS SoCal.
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