Southern California’s winter rainfall is breaking records, with another storm on the way
California’s already wet winter is breaking rainfall records, with another powerful storm moving in this weekend with the threat of new floods and mudslides.
After a dramatic drop in 2024 that helped fuel last January’s firestorms, this winter is helping, with some areas already approaching average rainfall totals for the season.
“It’s been an interesting season,” said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “We have more than normal rain.”
The latest storm will bring strong winds, more rain and possible flooding to burn areas.
A cold front moving into the state from the northwest is expected to reach the Los Angeles area on Saturday and bring heavy rain and snow on Sunday. In Los Angeles, the rain is expected to be less punishing than the previous storm that caused major flooding, road closures and rescues, but it will be more severe on the central coast, Wofford said.
One bright spot is the fire conditions. As LA is about to mark the first year of the Palisades and Eaton fires, the wet winter offers some protection – at least in the short term.
“The amount of rain we received will probably ensure that we won’t have large fires in the next few weeks, but beyond that we can’t say,” said David Acuña, chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “If we can transition to a dry state, it doesn’t take long for that green and brown grass to dry out completely.”
Much will depend on how much rain falls over the next few months, he added.
The Los Angeles area has already seen above-normal rainfall this rainy season, which began in Oct. 1, with storms drenching the region each month with strong systems hitting over the Christmas and New Year holidays. The last rainy days of 2025 helped bring California almost entirely out of drought conditions, according to the US Drought Monitor. And that’s before the wettest months of the year, traditionally January and February.
The storm program was the first since 2006 to rain on Pasadena’s Rose Parade and ended up being a real doozy — breaking a number of daily rainfall records, several of which were set during that previous storm.
In Oxnard, 1.09 inches of rain fell, breaking the previous New Year’s Day record of 0.83 inches set in 2006. At Sanberg, the record of 0.56 inches set in 2006 was broken by 1.25 inches. A record rainfall of 1.32 inches was set at Hollywood Burbank Airport on New Year’s Day, breaking the previous daily record of 0.35 inches, which was also set in 2006.
At Long Beach Airport, a rainfall record of 1.11 inches was good, breaking the fourteen-year record of 0.60 set in 1982. In Lancaster, 0.87 inches of rain fell Thursday, breaking the previous record of 0.24 inches set in 2006.
Thursday’s rain caused flooding on the 5 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley, prompting officials to close the lanes for several hours. In San Diego, a man and his young daughter got caught in the water in their blue Jeep and had to be rescued.
In Orange County, a woman’s body was pulled from the Santa Ana River in Fountain Valley Thursday afternoon. The woman had walked about two miles in the rushing water before the Orange County Fire Authority’s rapid water rescue team arrived. It is not clear how he died in the water.
In Sherman Oaks, hours of heavy rain Thursday sent mud and debris down a hill at a construction site. No injuries were reported.
The weekend storm is expected to bring 1 to 3 inches of rain to coastal areas and valleys and 3 to 6 inches to the hills and mountains. Rainfall rates are expected to range from 0.25 to 0.5 inches per hour, but localized amounts of up to an inch per hour are likely, especially in mountainous and mountainous areas of Ventura County and far north, which could cause flash flooding and mudslides, the weather service said.
Snow levels will remain above 6,500 feet, although a mix of snow and rain may drop to 6,000 feet, especially Sunday night. Forecasters predict 2 to 6 inches of snow above 7,500 feet, with 9 to 12 inches possible on the highest mountain peaks.
After heavy rain, crews work to clear mud and debris that flowed from a yard and down the side of a home in the 3900 block of Pacheco Drive in Sherman Oaks on Thursday. Two people were forced to leave. Southern California enters the new year with another round of rain and a renewed flood risk.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The weather service has issued wind advisories for the high mountain areas of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, interior San Luis Obispo County and the Santa Lucia Mountains. Those advisories will be in effect from Friday afternoon through Saturday evening and will likely extend to the Central Coast, forecasters said.
Winds can be strong enough to topple trees, given that the soil is already saturated from previous storms, especially in the Santa Lucia area where the strongest storms are expected.
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials have warned the public to stay away from beach water because of increased bacteria levels due to the rain. The advisory, which will be in effect until at least 4 p.m. Monday, could be extended if the rain continues.
Forecasters say another, cold storm is expected to hit the region between Monday and Tuesday. That storm could produce isolated thunderstorms and strong winds and hail, as well as snow levels down to 5,000 feet, according to the weather service.
The weekend storm is expected to hit Northern California especially with heavy rain that brings the risk of urban and street flooding as well as rising rivers and streams.
Friday in Corte Madera, an unincorporated city in Marin County, king tides had already caused major flooding. A video posted on social media showed a resident inspecting the damage caused by a kayak.
The beginning of the water year – from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 – ranked among the nine wettest of all official weather locations tracked by the weather service. It was the wettest start of the water year in several areas including Oxnard and Santa Barbara.
So far this season, the city of Los Angeles has received 11.64 inches of rain—about 82% of its normal rainfall for the entire water year, which begins on Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.
Sanberg, in the mountains of northwest Los Angeles County, experienced its heaviest rainfall in a water year dating back to 1934, receiving just over 16 inches of rain through Wednesday. On average, Sanberg sees 13.14 inches of water throughout the year, according to weather service data.
“We’re definitely ahead of the game,” Wofford said. “It looks like after we get through this last storm cycle we’re looking at a few days of dry weather after that, maybe two weeks.
