Torrential rains have hit Southern California over the last few days, causing floods and mudslides and leaving at least three people dead.
State authorities have declared a state of emergency in several counties, including Los Angeles, with more extreme weather on the way.
Police say a San Diego man was killed by a falling tree on Wednesday, local time.
On Sunday, a person trapped inside a vehicle died in rising waters as flooding overwhelmed parts of Redding.
Forecasters are warning that the additional rain could increase the risk of debris flows in waterlogged areas scorched by wildfires in January. Those burn scar zones have been stripped of vegetation by fire and are less able to absorb water.
Davey Schneider walks on the roof of his storm-damaged home on Thursday, in Wrightwood, California. (AP: William Liang)
Outside of California, a major storm system is moving toward the Midwest and Northeast and is expected to interfere with travel, according to the National Weather Service.
A mix of freezing rain and sleet could create icy conditions across much of Pennsylvania and parts of Michigan and Maryland. Forecasters are warning significant ice accumulation on tree limbs and power lines could cause outages. Heavy snow is expected to blanket the Northeast early Friday.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department in Southern California has issued an evacuation warning for Wrightwood, a mountain town about 130 kilometres north-east of Los Angeles, due to a risk of mudslides.
County firefighters on Wednesday said they rescued people trapped in cars when mud and debris rushed down a road leading into Wrightwood. It was not immediately clear how many people were rescued.
Roads in the town of about 5,000 people were covered in rocks, debris and thick mud on Thursday.
Several homes in Wrightwood have been hit by mudslides. (AP: William Liang)
With power out, a local gas station and coffee shop running on generators were serving as hubs for residents and visitors. Statewide, more than 120,000 people were without power, according to PowerOutage.us.
“It’s really a crazy Christmas,” said Jill Jenkins, who was spending the holiday with her 13-year-old grandson, Hunter Lopiccolo.
Mr Lopiccolo said the family almost evacuated the previous day, when water washed away a chunk of their backyard. But they eventually decided to stay and still celebrated the holiday. He got a new snowboard and e-bike.
“We just played card games all night with candles and flashlights,” he said.
Resident Arlene Corte said roads in town turned into rivers, but her house was not damaged.
“It could be a whole lot worse,” she said. “We’re here talking.”
San Bernardino County Fire spokesperson Shawn Millerick said with more rain on the way, more than 150 firefighters are stationed in the area.
“We’re ready,” he said. “It’s all hands on deck at this point.”
Flood watch in place for Malibu
Residents around burn scar zones from the Airport Fire in Orange County are under evacuation orders.
Areas along the coast, including Malibu, are under a flood watch until Friday afternoon, and wind and flood advisories have been issued for much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The storms are the result of multiple atmospheric rivers carrying massive plumes of moisture from the tropics during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.
Southern California typically gets 1.3 to 2.5 centimetres of rain this time of year, but this week, many areas could see between 10 to 20cm, with even more in the mountains, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said.
Snow at higher elevations
More heavy snow is expected in the Sierra Nevada, where wind gusts created “near white-out conditions” in places and made mountain pass travel treacherous.
Officials say there is a “high” avalanche risk around Lake Tahoe and a winter storm warning is in effect through Friday.
Ski resorts around Lake Tahoe recorded about 30 to 91cm of snow overnight, said Tyler Salas, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Reno.
Forecasters expect to see up to another 91cm of snow through Friday, Salas said.
The area could see 72 kilometres an hour gusts of wind in low elevation areas, and 160km/h winds along mountain ridges.
AP