Evacuations in Los Angeles Ahead of Upcoming Storm

Los Angeles, California – Evacuation orders have been put in place for areas susceptible to flooding, particularly around burn scar regions, impacting many residents in the Greater Los Angeles area just ahead of New Year’s Eve. It feels a bit grim; not just debris flows, but real concerns are threatening to affect celebrations across California.

While many parts of the U.S. will welcome the new year in calm conditions, California is gearing up for another holiday storm, leading to flooding across the Golden State.

Starting at 11 a.m. PT on December 31st, Los Angeles County has issued an evacuation advisory for nine burn regions, including significant areas in Malibu that were affected by a historic fire nearly a year ago.

This latest evacuation notice follows a record-breaking Christmas Eve rain at the Los Angeles Airport, which caused significant flooding, flash floods, and mudslides throughout California.

Vulnerable communities, particularly around the fire-scarred Wrightwood Bridge area, are once again threatened, and advisories for evacuations are in place.

Other impacted areas include the Canyon Fire Burn Area close to Halsey Canyon, the Kenneth Fire Burn Area near Calabasas, and several burn regions in Acton as well as near Malibu Creek State Park. The Eaton Fire burn area and multiple others near the San Gabriel River are also under evacuation orders.

Flash flood warnings are in effect across much of Southern California through Thursday due to heavy rainfall from a low-pressure system moving in from the subtropical Pacific Ocean.

As this system advances northward, expectations are set for light to moderate rain on New Year’s Eve, with the heaviest precipitation falling on New Year’s Day.

Because of the current wet conditions and saturated ground, flash flooding risk is rated at a level 2 on a scale of 4 from Wednesday to Thursday, particularly affecting areas from northern Los Angeles to Santa Barbara—some of which have received over a foot of rain recently.

By Friday, this threat of flash flooding will likely extend up the coast into parts of Northern California, including San Francisco.

The forecast predicts anywhere from 1 to 2 inches of rain statewide, with localized areas in California’s Transverse Mountains possibly receiving even more—2 to 3 inches or greater.

Interestingly, this is the first instance since 2006 that Los Angeles will experience rain on New Year’s Day, according to weather reports.

A 1 out of 5 low-level severe weather threat is noted for parts of Los Angeles and San Diego on the following day, with concerns about potential wind damage and the possibility of tornadoes accompanying the storm.

Once this system passes, a larger and possibly more significant storm is forecasted to approach northern and central California from Friday to Saturday, bringing strong winds, heavy rain, and mountain snow to the Sierra Nevada.

The latest updates indicate that coastal areas of California are at risk of low-grade flash flooding from Friday into early Saturday, affecting cities like Redding, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara.

The Climate Prediction Center has emphasized that the western U.S. is likely to encounter above-average precipitation into early January.