Southern California Weather Forecast: Heavy Rain And Flash Flooding Following Evacuations

From early Wednesday to late Thursday, the storm system saturated portions of coastal Southern California, delivering 1 to 5 inches of rain in many areas, while some places received over 6 inches of rainfall. This excessive downpour resulted in knee-deep floodwaters in certain locations, prompted road closures. Ventura County cities Oxnard and Port Hueneme issued evacuation orders for some coastal areas with at least one shelter opened for fleeing residents, all just days before the holiday weekend.

On Thursday night, the area experienced isolated thunderstorms with a few occurrences of lightning strikes, attributed to the influence of the El Ni?o-influenced storm. Ventura County cities, namely Oxnard and Port Hueneme, issued evacuation orders for certain coastal areas, and at least one shelter was made available for residents seeking refuge.

The weather service forecasts that the heavy to excessive rainfall affecting Southern California will eventually move towards central and southern Arizona overnight and into early Saturday. In these regions, there is also a possibility of isolated to scattered incidents of flash flooding.

"Some of the local slot canyons and burn scars closer to areas of terrain, and also the dry washes/arroyos over the deserts, will be vulnerable to seeing these runoff impacts. However, generally much of the rainfall across these areas should be beneficial," the weather service said.