LOS ANGELES (AP) — An unusually strong storm system called an atmospheric river was dousing Southern California on Saturday, prompting flood warnings in areas of coastal Los Angeles County that recently were ravaged by wildfire.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles and Oxnard reported heavy rainfall Saturday at rates as heavy as an inch (2.5 centimeters) per hour in coastal areas that are prone to flash flooding.
On Friday, more than four inches of rain fell over coastal Santa Barbara County as the storm approached Los Angeles. The National Weather Service urged people to stay indoors amid heavy winds.
The long plume of tropical moisture that formed over the Pacific Ocean began drenching the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday and unleashed widespread rain over Southern California on Friday and Saturday. More than a foot of snow was predicted for parts of the Sierra Nevada.
Amid the stormy weather Friday, the California Highway Patrol said a 71-year-old man died Friday after his vehicle was swept off a flooded bridge in Northern California and a 5-year-old was swept into the ocean by 15-foot waves at a state park on the central coast, triggering a search that continued Sunday.
