Southern California\u2019s rainy winter continued this weekend, though the intensity of the rainfall was expected to taper off.<\/p>\n
The latest forecast showed a weakening of the system as it moves into Los Angeles County, but there is a 20% chance that recent burn areas such as the Palisades, Eaton, and Bridge burn scars could see rainfall rates capable of producing debris flows, the National Weather Service said Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cA Flash Flood Watch may still be issued later today if the environment starts to show favorable signals for heavy rainfall,\u201d the NWS said. \u201cStorm total rainfall is expected to reach between one and three inches for the coastal and valley regions, while the foothills and mountains could see significantly higher totals ranging from three to six inches. Snow levels are projected to remain relatively high throughout the event, staying mostly above 6,500 feet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Temperatures were expected to stay in the 50s and 60s, with overnight lows dropping into the 30s and 40 throughout the Southland.<\/p>\n
The latest in a series of winter storms prompted evacuation warnings near the burn scars of recent wildfires and another closure of a 3.6-mile stretch of Topanga Canyon.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the city of Los Angeles issued an evacuation warning, starting at 10 a.m. for the Sunset Fire area, as well as for the Hurst Fire and Mandeville areas regarding \u201cpossible post-fire debris flows.\u201d According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, \u201cHouses in the warning area with high risk will be visited by LAPD with protective information.\u201d<\/p>\n
In another preemptive move in anticipation of possible mud and debris flows, Caltrans closed the 3.6-mile stretch of Topanga Canyon Boulevard known to experience mudslides between Pacific Coast Highway and Grand View Drive, in the unincorporated Topanga area. The closure began midnight Friday into Saturday. The reopening of the roadway was \u201cdependent on improved weather and road conditions,\u201d Caltrans said.<\/p>\n
The agency also said the Palisades Fire recovery work zone on PCH from Sunset Boulevard to Carbon Beach Terrace will remain open, \u201cwith crews on standby to respond to any storm impacts.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Caltrans, the New Year\u2019s Eve storms \u201cbrought very minor impacts to PCH.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition, the L.A. County Department of Public Health issued a rain advisory Friday, warning beach users \u201cto avoid all water contact, especially near discharging storm drains, creeks, and rivers due to potentially higher bacteria levels in these areas. This includes any runoff that may flow onto or pond on the beach sand.\u201d The advisory will be in effect until at least Monday at 4 p.m.<\/p>\n
Inner Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro also remains closed from a Christmas Day sewage flow, and will remain closed until further notice, the health department said. Hilda Solis, chair of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, said county departments were \u201cactively monitoring conditions and stand ready to respond to emergencies as needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
For up-to-date information on the storm, residents can visit lacounty.gov\/emergency or sign up for emergency alerts at alert.lacounty.gov. Sand and sandbag distribution sites can be found at pw.lacounty.gov\/dsg\/sandbags. To check on evacuation statuses, residents can download the Genasys Alert app or visit genasys.com. Motorists were also advised to stay off the roads if possible and to exercise extreme caution if they do drive.<\/p>\n
Forecasters said the initial estimate is a quarter- to half-inch per hour with isolated rates up to .75 of an inch during the most intense storm period Saturday. Thunderstorm potential looked minimal, but a beach hazards statement was also issued for Orange County, where tides could combine with southerly winds at times to bring minor tidal overflows at area beaches.<\/p>\n
The weather service added that several significant storms affecting southwestern California from October through December have brought seasonal rainfall totals already close to or above normal full-season levels, with January and February still to come. Although active rainfall was mostly on pause during Thursday\u2019s 137th Tournament of Roses Parade, the route along Colorado Boulevard was rain-slickened for the first time in 20 years, skies were uncharacteristically overcast, and many in the crowd wore ponchos to protect themselves from the overnight rain.<\/p>\n
State and local officials also have precautions in place for weather-related emergency response needs. Gov. Gavin Newsom has directed the California Governor\u2019s Office of Emergency Services to pre-position fire and rescue personnel and resources in areas most at risk for flooding, mud, and debris flows \u2014 including parts of Southern California, with a particular eye toward burn scar areas. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass\u2019 office said the city\u2019s Emergency Operations Center was activated Wednesday to coordinate preparedness measures and ensure all personnel are ready to respond as needed. Bass added that the LAFD had augmented staffing of specialized resources that can assist with swift water rescues, mud and debris flows, and other rain-related issues with a specific focus in burn scar areas.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was poised to respond to any potential power outages and will work around the clock to meet customer demand, according to the mayor\u2019s office. L.A. Sanitation was also on standby to assist with any flooding calls and with monitoring the city\u2019s wastewater conveyance system to manage the additional incoming water flow. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors held a special meeting Wednesday, when the board ratified a local emergency proclamation issued earlier by Solis.<\/p>\n
The proclamation allows the county \u201cto seek reimbursement for storm-related damages and accelerate recovery efforts\u201d and ensure that \u201cresources and assistance can be deployed quickly to support residents and communities affected by the storms.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Southern California\u2019s rainy winter continued this weekend, though the intensity of the rainfall was expected to taper off.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31138,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,3565,21729,62,3568,685,2695],"class_list":["post-119186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-expected","tag-more","tag-rain","tag-southland","tag-this","tag-weekend"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}