Flash flood warning issued for Ventura, LA counties with fast-moving storm coming to Southern California
There was a collective sigh of relief as the second of two atmospheric rivers officially passed through Southern California early Wednesday, but only a brief one as a new and severe storm descended on the area.
Los Angeles didn't have too much time with the sun before the next system moved in, bringing severe storm warnings and flash flood warnings along with it.
Strong gusts of wind, potential hail and even possible tornadic activity were at the top of forecasters minds when the storm reached the area, especially after a twister touched down near Grover Beach and Pismo Beach in San Luis Obispo County earlier Wednesday.
The warnings remained in place for much of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, expected to end just before 9 p.m.
Luckily, it's expected to quickly pass over the region, unlike the record-breaking atmospheric river that dumped massive amounts of rain on Sunday and Monday.
Here's how it's shaping up tonight.
At 5 p.m., the foothills and mountains in the area may see some rain as some energy comes through. An hour later, it could start to rain in Ventura County.
The rain will finally move through LA County at about 6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. The heaviest bands will most likely be between 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.
The system will turn towards Orange County and the Inland Empire at around 9 p.m. with the heaviest bands striking at 10 p.m. There is a Flood Watch through late tonight for Orange County and parts of the Inland Empire.
The entire system will be out of the region by 3:30 a.m. There is a 20% chance of thunderstorms tonight, which could dump some local heavy amounts as well.
Right now, rain totals look like .25-.5 inches of rain for the bulk of our area and 1-3" in the foothills and mountains and the communities that see thunderstorms.
There are several warnings for Southern California as the storm passes by in the next 12 hours.
Winter Storm Warning until 8 a.m. Thursday. Roads will become treacherous this evening and tomorrow as snow levels are much lower with the colder air moving in with this system. Areas above 6000 feet could once again be looking at a foot or two of fresh snow. Areas above 5000 feet could see 5 inches, 4000 feet up to 3 inches and 3000 feet a dusting to an inch.
Travelers over the Grapevine should be wary about the possible snow. Winds will be gusty and up to 55 mph, which could cause problematic whiteouts.
We could see a few scattered showers sticking around tomorrow, but overall, this is a quick event to send us off into a much better weekend.
As cold air streams in behind this system, it will be around 50 degrees on Thursday and Friday. However, over the weekend, the sun and 60-degree weather will make a return this weekend.
It's an El Nino year, and the atmospheric river has now proven it has lots to work with as we see a long winter and spring ahead.
