Heavy rain began falling in the Southland Monday, prompting a flood watch and evacuation warnings for people living in burn scar areas.<\/p>\n
The first in a trio of storms expected to hit the Southland this week also ushered in colder winter temperatures throughout the area, thunder and significant snow in the mountains, the National Weather Service said.<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s storm is expected to be the heaviest and produce the greatest overall rainfall totals, with forecasts calling for about 1 to 3 inches in coastal and valley areas and 2 to 5 inches in the mountains by late Monday.<\/p>\n
The city of Los Angeles issued evacuation warnings for people living in burn scar areas, after a flood watch was issued for a wide swath of Los Angeles County from Monday morning through Monday evening. Rock and mud slides are possible near steep terrain, and debris flows are possible on burn scars.<\/p>\n
The NWS said anyone near vulnerable areas was \u201curged to start taking precautions now,\u201d adding that \u201csevere weather, including small tornadoes, 60 mph winds and one-inch-per-hour rain rates\u201d are possible.<\/p>\n
At about 11:30 a.m., the NWS said flash flooding was already developing from heavy showers and thunderstorms across southern Los Angeles County. Rock slides, mud slides and debris flows were expected on burn scars including the Eaton Fire area.<\/p>\n
The agency later extended a flood watch for most of Los Angeles County until midnight Monday.<\/p>\n
By midday the deluge was flooding freeways and surface streets across the county. Seven vehicles were stalled in a flooded intersection at 12330 W. Olympic Blvd. in West Los Angeles, and officials closed the intersection until the water cleared, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.<\/p>\n
Flooding was also reported on the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway from Valencia Boulevard through Magic Mountain Parkway, on the Century (105) Freeway in Hawthorne at the Prairie Avenue off-ramp, and on the Baldwin Avenue on-ramp to the westbound Foothill (210) Freeway in Arcadia.<\/p>\n
LAX issued a ground stop for departing flights Monday morning due to the heavy rain and thunderstorms.<\/p>\n
Six Flags Magic Mountain closed on Monday due to the rain and high winds. The park said unused tickets dated for Monday can be used on any day through Dec. 31.<\/p>\n
Knott\u2019s Berry Farm in Buena Park also closed early Monday due to the rain and winds.<\/p>\n
Santa Anita Park postponed Monday\u2019s special holiday racing program inn light of the weather forecast. A makeup day for the postponed Presidents Day card will be added to the Classic Meet prior to the end of the season.<\/p>\n
Mayor Karen Bass had warned residents in those areas to take precautions and be prepared for potential emergency warnings.<\/p>\n
\u201cAhead of heavy rain forecasted this week, first responders, Public Works crews, and city personnel are taking action to keep Angelenos safe and will be ready to respond to any potential impacts,\u201d Bass said in a statement late Saturday. \u201cThis is likely to be another significant rain event. All Angelenos \u2014 especially those in burn scar areas \u2014 are encouraged to follow official guidance, use caution on the roads, plan ahead, and stay informed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis added her own warning for county residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cLos Angeles County is ready,\u201d she said Sunday. \u201cRepresentatives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff\u2019s Department, Fire Department, Department of Public Works, and Office of Emergency Management are working together to prepare and keep our communities safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are also taking steps to protect our most vulnerable residents. Our Department of Homeless Services and Housing is coordinating outreach to ensure individuals in high-risk areas are informed of available resources and connected to shelter during the storm. The county has activated motel vouchers to support augmented existing shelter, and outreach teams will continue active engagement and prioritize motel placements throughout the weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvacuation warnings are in effect for select parcels near areas burned in recent wildfires \u2026 through 9 a.m. Tuesday \u2026 Residents in those areas are urged to remain vigilant and be prepared to evacuate if an evacuation order is issued.\u201d<\/p>\n
Forecasters also urged people in flood-prone areas to be careful.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop,\u201d forecasters said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe advise not to make plans for outdoor activities on Monday as conditions will be unusually hazardous,\u201d the NWS\u2019 Los Angeles office said.<\/p>\n
A wind advisory was in effect from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, with gusts expected to hit 60 mph.<\/p>\n
Snow levels are forecast to drop from around 6,500 feet early in the storm to near 5,000 feet Tuesday.<\/p>\n
A second storm system is expected to arrive Tuesday night into Wednesday, bringing colder temperatures and the potential for additional rain and mountain snow. Forecasters said snow levels could fall as low as 2,500 to 3,000 feet at times, creating possible travel hazards on mountain roads.<\/p>\n
An additional 1.5 to 3 inches of rain is likely on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a possibility of 3 to 6 inches of total rain in the mountains, according to the NWS meteorologists.<\/p>\n
Along the coast, a period of \u201cvery large waves\u201d is expected to start on Monday, with surf generally peaking Tuesday and Wednesday across west-facing beaches. High surf advisories and beach hazard statements are in effect for all coasts, and a high-surf advisory in Orange County was in effect until 10 p.m. Friday.<\/p>\n
Officials warned of dangerous swimming and surfing conditions and localized beach erosion, with possible minor tidal overflow into parking lots and boardwalks.<\/p>\n
Temperatures are dropping sharply, with daytime highs remaining in the mid-50s in most of Los Angeles and Orange counties all week, and dropping to the low 50s and even upper 40s in the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.<\/p>\n
Overnight lows will be in the 40s in most areas, but will drop into the 30s in the mountains, Santa Clarita Valley and the high desert from Tuesday to Friday.<\/p>\n
The third storm system is expected Thursday, but meteorologists say those moisture levels are unconfirmed.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles residents can monitor emergency alerts at NotifyLA.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Heavy rain began falling in the Southland Monday, prompting a flood watch and evacuation warnings for people living…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180783,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[80247,131,133,132,62,3568,61,18569,2320],"class_list":{"0":"post-180782","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-brings","9":"tag-long-beach","10":"tag-long-beach-headlines","11":"tag-long-beach-news","12":"tag-rain","13":"tag-southland","14":"tag-storm","15":"tag-strong","16":"tag-winds"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180782","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=180782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}