Southern California gets winter storm rains, flooding possible

LOS ANGELES - A winter storm brought heavy rain, lightning and small hail to parts of Southern California on Sunday, raising the possibility of local flooding.

The National Weather Service said the threat of showers will linger until Monday morning when the cold low-pressure system moves out.

"Some areas will get a decent amount of rain. Other areas will get nothing," said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the weather service's Oxnard office.

By Sunday afternoon, heavy rain drenched Santa Monica, Venice, Brentwood and other communities on the west side of Los Angeles County. Venice also saw hail.

Slow-moving thunderstorms also developed along California's central coast. The weather service said San Luis Obispo was hit with heavy rain, pea-size hail and lightning.

Meteorologists warned of possible local flooding throughout the region.

Crews worked early Sunday to clean up a mudslide that shut down a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway in Ventura County northwest of Los Angeles. The area received between a quarter-inch to half an inch of rain overnight, Sweet said.

Snow levels could drop as low as 3,500 feet, potentially dumping fresh powder on ski resorts and creating icy road conditions on heavy-traveled Interstate 5 near the Grapevine.

The Sierra Nevada received a welcome dose of snow Friday and Saturday with some resorts reporting 12 to 18 inches of snow.

Many communities around Southern California saw small amounts of rain overnight including the wildfire-scarred hillsides east of Los Angeles, site of the devastating Colby Fire last year.

Despite the wet weather, the latest rainfall was not expected to put a dent in the state's drought, headed into a fourth year.

"We need several large, heavy rainstorms to even have an effect," Sweet said.