LOS ANGELES — A rare October storm pummeled Southern California with several inches of rain on Tuesday, swelling rivers, causing freeway accidents and prompting evacuations in wildfire-scarred neighborhoods where the threat of mudslides was high.
The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings in several counties where recent fires left hillsides without vegetation to hold soil in place, making it easier for the terrain to loosen during storms.
By Tuesday afternoon, most areas had recorded up to 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) of rain, according to the National Weather Service for Los Angeles. Over 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) fell in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of LA.
Firefighters rescued two people and two dogs from the swollen Los Angeles River. A 45-year-old man was hospitalized for exposure and a 30-year-old woman declined transport, the city fire department said.
John Dumas with the National Weather Service in Los Angeles says a storm is hitting Southern California area and bringing heavy rain and possible mudslides.
Authorities ordered the evacuation of about 115 homes, mostly in Pacific Palisades and Mandeville Canyon, where a massive inferno swept through in January. That fire killed more than 30 people and destroyed over 17,000 homes and buildings in Los Angeles County. Evacuation orders were lifted by Tuesday evening.
Fires make the soil become “an oil-like surface” that is impermeable, said David Roth, a forecaster with the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.
“It takes years for that to really wear off. The first year after a severe fire or a significant fire is the worst year, and just everything runs off. It’s almost like the ground has become asphalt,” Roth said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other officials warned residents across the region to remain alert and stay indoors.
Still, Alex and Kateryna Tsykhanivski made a wet morning trek to the Griffith Observatory, which usually offers sweeping vistas of Los Angeles. The view Tuesday was obscured by heavy clouds as downpours intensified.
“It doesn’t rain much in LA. So every time we see rain, we like to go out,” Alex Tsykhanivski said.
Southern California has gotten little rain this year
Southern California has seen little precipitation this year, with much of the region under moderate or severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
“It’s definitely welcome rain,” said Curtis Riganti, a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center. “But how much it helps … it’s too soon to tell.”
He said the center will analyze the storm’s potential impact on drought conditions over the next week.
At least two tornado warnings were issued and rockslides were reported, but there was no immediate word of major damage. More than 21,000 customers in Southern and central California had already lost power, according to PowerOutage.us.
In February, torrential rains unleashed debris flows and mudslides in several neighborhoods torched by the January fires. In the community of Sierra Madre, near the site of the Eaton Fire, water, debris and boulders rushed down the mountain, trapping cars in the mud and damaging several home garages. A portion of the Pacific Coast Highway by Pacific Palisades was submerged in at least 3 feet (1 meter) of sludge, and a swift debris flow swept a Los Angeles Fire Department vehicle into the ocean.
Concerns about post-fire debris flows have been especially high since 2018, when mudslides ravaged the Santa Barbara County community of Montecito after a downpour hit burned mountain slopes.
Southwest and Alaska among other parts of US hit by severe weather
In California’s Sierra Nevada, the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area said it was snowing Tuesday morning. Up to 3 feet (1 meter) of snow was predicted for parts of the mountain range.
Elsewhere in the U.S., about 100 residents in the southwestern Colorado mountain town of Pagosa Springs were out of their homes and schools were closed Tuesday. Evacuation orders were lifted by evening.
That happened because the San Juan River flooded its banks after Tropical Storm Raymond dumped more rain Monday. It was the second tropical storm to drench the saturated region since the weekend.
In Tempe, Arizona, a microburst and thunderstorm on Monday dropped about a half-inch (1.3 centimeters) of rain within 10 minutes, the weather service said. The storm uprooted trees that toppled onto vehicles and buildings. A business complex had its roof torn off, and thousands of homes lost power.City Manager Rosa Inchausti said Tuesday that residents could not return to nine apartment buildings and several homes that had been deemed uninhabitable after the extreme weather.
In Alaska over the weekend, Typhoon Halong brought hurricane-force winds, storm surges and floodwaters that swept away some homes. One person was dead and two were missing in the western part of the state, while more than 50 people had been rescued — some plucked from rooftops.
In the Eastern U.S., a man spotted in the rough seas off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, by a passing ferry was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard on Monday.
