OXNARD, Calif. – 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.
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Significant flash flooding was ongoing early Thursday morning in the Oxnard area after 3.10 inches of rain fell in one hour, of which 1.99 inches fell in just 40 minutes. Photos shared on social media from Oxnard showed upwards of 2 feet of water on roads.
“Many of the streets and intersections are heavily impacted by flooding,” the Oxnard Police Department warned residents on Facebook. “Please stay off the city streets for the next several hours until the water recedes. Standing water can cause vehicles to stall and may become trapped.”
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office echoed similar warnings for residents in the Foster Park and Camp Chaffee communities who were under an Evacuation Warning due to potential flood hazards.
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.
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Additionally, wind gusts will reach 30-50 mph during the peak of the storm, with isolated gusts to 60 mph, especially over the mountains.
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.
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.
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.