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Atmospheric River Brings Heavy Rain to Southern California as Evacuation Warnings, Flood Watches Take Hold

Burn scars face a high debris‑flow risk through the weekend, prompting activated emergency operations and pre‑positioned crews.

© NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES-West
An aerial view of Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe in Lake Tahoe.
LEE VINING, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Crater Mountain is seen among the MonoInyo Craters covered in show from an early season snowstorm on October 15, 2025 near Lee Vining, California. The MonoInyo Craters are a chain of domes, craters and lava flows, remnants of wide-spread explosive volcanic eruptions that began more than 50,000 years ago. Eruptions among the Mono-Inyo Craters occurred as recently as 600 years ago. Paoha Island, in nearby Mono Lake, last erupted 300 years ago. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
Cars drive in limited visibility on US Route 1, in Saugus, Massachusetts on December 17, 2020. - A major snowstorm hit the US east coast during Thursday's early hours, creating extra challenges in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic and a mass vaccination rollout taking place across the region.The winter storm, moving over New York, Pennsylvania and other northeastern states, leaves millions facing more than a foot of snow a week before Christmas, potentially disrupting coronavirus testing and delaying holiday deliveries. It also left more than 60 million people under bad weather warnings from Maine to South Carolina.

Overview

  • Heavy rain bands are moving into the region with two main pulses expected Friday morning and again Friday night into Saturday, with rates up to about an inch per hour and totals generally 1–3 inches in metro areas and 2–5 inches in mountains, higher on coastal slopes.
  • A Flood Watch covers Los Angeles County through Saturday evening, with similar watches for Santa Barbara and Ventura counties during the late Friday–Saturday window as forecasters flag life‑threatening debris‑flow potential near recent burn scars.
  • Evacuation warnings are in effect from 6 p.m. Thursday to 11 a.m. Sunday for Los Angeles city zones near the Palisades, Hurst and Sunset fires and for the Eaton Fire area in Altadena, with LAPD planning door‑to‑door notifications in high‑risk neighborhoods.
  • Topanga Canyon Boulevard (SR‑27) is closed between Pacific Coast Highway and Grand View Drive as of 10 p.m. Thursday due to debris‑flow danger, with the closure expected to last at least through the Friday morning commute and possibly into the weekend.
  • Los Angeles activated its Emergency Operations Center Thursday evening, and the state pre‑deployed 274 personnel plus engines, urban search‑and‑rescue teams, bulldozers, swiftwater crews and helicopters; sandbags are available at designated county locations.