From fires to flood watches: Winter storm expected to bring rain, snow to Southern California
California's deadly wildfires could come to an end in the coming days when a weekend storm douses historically dry terrain, but the storm will come with the potential for a different problem: flash floods.
California's deadly wildfires could come to an end in the coming days when a weekend storm douses historically dry terrain, but the storm will come with the potential for a different problem: flash floods.
Flood watch alerts have been issued in the same Los Angeles areas that were burned by the blazes that began burning this month amid hurricane-force winds after a more than seven-month stretch without rain, a record for parts of Southern California.
The 24-hour flood watch alerts cover the still-active Palisades Fire, which has burned 23,448 acres and is 79% contained, and Eaton Fire, which has burned 14,021 acres and is 95% contained, starting at 4 p.m. Sunday.
The National Weather Service said the possibility of mudslides inspired the watches, which indicate conditions for flooding are favorable but not imminent. Federal forecasters said the probability of significant flooding and debris flow is 10% to 20%.
"While damaging debris flows are not the most likely outcome, there is still a lot of uncertainty with this storm," the weather service office in Oxnard said Friday. "The threat is high enough to prepare for the worst-case scenario."
Rating: 5