In brief
Southern California experienced heavy rainfall on Friday, leading to flash flood warnings in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The National Weather Service reported rain levels exceeding four times the monthly average for November, with downtown Los Angeles recording about 3.5 inches of rain so far. The Santa Ynez Mountains in Santa Barbara County have received over 15 inches of rain. The storms come on the heels of a potent atmospheric river that caused several deaths earlier this month, raising concerns about mudslides in wildfire-affected areas.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Torrential rains drenched parts of Southern California on Friday, leading to new flash flood warnings following earlier storms that put the region on track for near-record November rainfall, the National Weather Service said.
Before dawn Friday, residents were warned of flash flooding of streets, creeks, and streams and possible mudslides in several parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties. In coastal Huntington Beach, rain flowed through some streets like a stream.
The most recent flash flood warnings from the National Weather Service covered areas spanning from downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica to Mission Viejo in Orange County. Some vehicles were stuck in floodwaters near Culver City before dawn on Friday, the weather service reported.
A series of storms beginning on November 13 has unleashed copious amounts of rain, more than four times the normal amount that typically falls in November in downtown Los Angeles, according to weather service reports.
In a normal November, downtown Los Angeles typically gets 0.78 of an inch (2 centimeters) of rain, but has already seen about 3.5 inches (8.9 centimeters) this month.
Santa Barbara County has been a magnet for moisture. Parts of the Santa Ynez Mountains have seen more than 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain this month, the weather service said.
A potent atmospheric river is blamed for causing at least a half-dozen deaths earlier this month as it rolled across much of California. Heavy rains also bring the threat of mudslides in areas that were recently ravaged by wildfire.
Atmospheric rivers are long and relatively narrow bands of water vapor that form over an ocean and flow through the sky, transporting much of the moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes.
