Flood watches, evacuations ordered as wet weather moving into Southern California as storm sweeps through

By CBSLA STAFF

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — Diamond Bar, Santa Monica, and Studio City were just some of the many Los Angeles County cities that saw wet weather Monday morning, as a significant storm sweeps through Southern California, bringing rain, mountain snow and gusty winds expected to last through Wednesday.

In Orange County, evacuation orders were lifted Wednesday morning in Silverado, Williams and Modjeska Canyons, as officials told residents in the Bond Fire burn area it was safe to return to their homes after the storm.

The weather brought flood watches, evacuations due to the threat of potential flooding and debris flows, and rescues Tuesday morning.

Firefighters went to the area of the northbound 110 Freeway in the Cypress Park area around 8 a.m., where two vehicles were reportedly seen in the Los Angeles River near Washington Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The vehicles were unoccupied and no injuries were reported.

Up to five inches of precipitation are expected in some areas, making experts worried that voter turnout on Election Day would be impacted.

“It wouldn’t stop me,” says Victor Ramirez, from Norwalk. “I don’t care how bad it is. … I want to make sure my vote counts.”

While some voters say that they’ll make sure to do their civic duty on Tuesday regardless of the weather, Zev Yaroslavsky, the Director of the LA Initiative at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, said that it could be quite the opposite.

Most areas of Los Angeles and Orange County experienced substantial rainfall by Monday morning that will continue throughout the day and on Election Day Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. Showers are predicted to lighten on Wednesday, though they’ll still be intermittent.

Total rainfall could exceed 5 inches, according to the NWS’ Los Angeles office.

Due to the wet weather, Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia closed Monday. Park officials said tickets for Monday will be valid on any other regular day of operation through the end of the year.

In the mountains, snow accumulation was possible Monday night at 6,500 to 7,000 feet, where forecasters predicted 6 to 12 inches, with local amounts up to 20 inches.

Wind gusts of 40 mph are expected Monday in the mountains and high desert, increasing to 55 mph Tuesday. The weather service advised motorists to “prepare for slick roads and wintry travel in the mountains,” as well as potential issues along the Grapevine on Tuesday night.

Wednesday’s highs are only expected to reach 58 in Pasadena and Santa Clarita and 53 in Lancaster.

The Antelope Valley will see overnight temperatures below freezing level later this week, with lows of 33, 30 and 31 degrees expected Wednesday through Friday.

Regions under evacuation orders and warnings include:

Evacuation Order issued for homes in the Fish Fire burn area in Duarte, beginning at 11 p.m. Monday evening.

Warnings issued for those OC residents living closest the Silverado Canyon, Williams Canyon and Modjeska areas near the Bond Fire burn scar. Warnings go into effect at 4 a.m. Tuesday morning and last until 7 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Areas that are also under flash flood warnings and watches include:

Residents living near the Route, Bobcat, Ranch, Dam and Lake fires;

Residents living in the Los Angeles County Mountain, Lancaster, Palmdale, Pomona, Valencia, Santa Clarita, El Monte, Acton, East Los Angeles, San Gabriel, Pasadena, Newhall and Mount Wilson;

Orange County residents living near the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills, inland areas including Fullerton, Irvine, Mission Viejo, Garden Grove, Anaheim, Orange and Santa Ana.

A drying trend is expected for the latter half of the week.

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