A powerful storm doused California with heavy rain on Friday, prompting evacuation warnings as the state braced for the potential of floods, mudslides, thunderstorms and even the chance of a tornado over the weekend.
More than 4in of rain fell over coastal Santa Barbara county as the storm moved south toward Los Angeles, according to the National Weather Service.
Communities in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties – especially those near burn scars where there are higher risks for mudslides and debris flows – could be in for a dangerously wet weekend, with two surges of rainfall expected through Sunday.
As communities prepared for Saturday’s expected storm surge, evacuation warnings were issued through Sunday morning in areas affected by recent wildfires, including those by the major blazes in Los Angeles in January.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service in Los Angeles warned that roads and highways would likely see flooding along with debris flows that could block thoroughfares and damage infrastructure. “In creeks and rivers, the flows will be heavy with anyone in or near those channels at risk of being swept away,” officials wrote in a Friday morning update.