A heavy rainstorm system dubbed an “atmospheric river” is set to hit Southern California on Monday, the third such extreme weather event this month.
Almost the entirety of the Southern California coast, from the Mexican border to Oxnard, is under a flash flood warning Sunday in preparation for the storm, with another band of heavy rain that could also cause flash flooding near Monterey and the Central Valley, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast.
As much as 3 to 5 inches are projected for the southern portion of the state, risking flooding and landslides in an area that was hammered by two back-to-back storms in early February.
Those twin “atmospheric rivers” brought record-setting rainfall to much of the state, nearly overflowed the Los Angeles River and caused widespread rainwater damage.
The “severe” risk of flooding will stay in place until Wednesday, according to the NWS, with wind advisories also in place across most of California warning of 45 to 55 mph gusts.