Rains wreak havoc on already soaked Southern California
The latest atmospheric-river storm pummeling an already soaked Southern California wreaked havoc across the region, prompting landslide concerns, worsening dangerous potholes and even forcing an airport to close due to flooding.
According to the National Weather Service, the storm has so far delivered the most rain to southern Santa Barbara County where the airport was closed due to as much as 10 inches of rain falling by noon and covering runways with water.
“[Santa Barbara Airport] remains closed until further notice,” officials said on X, formerly Twitter. “The airfield experienced significant flooding and water is not expected to recede enough to open for the remainder of today. Next update will be at 2 a.m. Please continue checking directly with your airline for flight status.”
Locally, Bel Air received nearly 3 inches of rain, followed by Leo Carrillo with 2.37 inches and Beverly Hills seeing 2.19 inches. Porter Ranch residents got nearly 3 inches, followed by nearly 2 inches in Woodland Hills.
Downtown L.A. was hit with a little more than an inch of rainfall.
In the San Fernando Valley, drivers dealt with potholes worsened by the recent rains.
“You can’t really see them, and they come out of nowhere,” Valley resident Elijah Siegal told KTLA. “You hit this large bump and then you go, ‘Oh, no. Is my car screwed up?’”
On the northbound 405 at the Skirball Center offramp, crews were dealing with a sink hole, Caltrans saying the ramp will remain closed indefinitely.
“We have roads that flooded out, roads that are completely shut down and that we have to close because they’re covered in mud,” Allison Colburn with Caltrans said. “We only have so many people available to address these things at once.
In Hacienda Heights, residents are hoping sandbags hunkered on top of tarp covered hillsides will withstand the additional rains. Just two weeks ago, heavy rain caused mudslides that crashed through walls and damaged structures.
While the storm is now pointed at Orange County, NWS forecasts L.A. County valleys and coasts will receive another one-third to two-thirds of an inch of rain overnight. Foothills and coastal slopes could see another two-thirds of an inch to 1.25 inches.
Los Angeles County remains under a flood advisory until 6 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Snow levels are expected to remain at 8,000 feet and higher through the evening but may come down to an elevation of 7,000 feet by Tuesday, NWS said. On Tuesday night, residents at 6,000 feet could start to see snowfall.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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