California’s wet winter continued Saturday as rain fell in the Southland, grounding flights in and out of Santa Barbara Airport and causing major road closures along the coast.
The severe weather is expected to continue through Tuesday as the worst of the storm will weaken by midday Monday, according to the National Weather Service. However, even a small amount of rain can have a big impact if it comes after other strong winter storms, said Robbie Munroe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“There is a lot of space for that rain to come in, so it can still be a little dangerous out there,” he said.
The latest storm system has been worst in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, but is expected to weaken as it moves into Los Angeles County. The Santa Barbara Airport canceled all flights in and out of the airport late Saturday afternoon after the runways were flooded. Officials at the small regional airport about 7 miles from downtown Santa Barbara did not know when it would reopen and said they would reassess the situation after the rain stops.
“I urge everyone to check with the airlines about the status of the flights before coming to the airport,” said the spokesperson.
The wet weather, combined with an earlier storm during the Christmas and New Year holidays, was also responsible for closing all lanes on the 27-mile stretch of the 101 Freeway from the SR1 and Highway 1 junction to Winchester Canyon Road in Goleta due to flash flooding. Also, on Friday, Caltrans closed a 3.6-mile stretch of Topanga Canyon Boulevard known for mudslides between Pacific Coast Highway and Grand View Drive. The reopening of roads is “subject to improved weather and road conditions,” Caltrans said
The rain system is expected to weaken as it moves south into Los Angeles County, but there is a 20% chance that areas that have recently burned, including the Palisades, Eaton and Bridge fire scars, could see mud. The National Weather Service also issued a flash flood advisory Saturday for the Santa Clarita Valley and the mountains of northwest LA County. The service warns of minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas, as well as minor mudslides and debris flows, especially near steep terrain and recent burn scars.
In the far north in the Bay Area, a powerful combination of unusually high king tides, heavy swells from the eastern Pacific storm, and rain across the region led to coastal flooding. Flooding is mainly around the Embarcadero in San Francisco and parts of Marin County. There were also reports of high tides near Half Moon Bay in San Francisco and some flooding in the Elkhorn Slough area in northern Monterey County on Hwy 1.
High tides could cause another round of coastal flooding on Sunday, but by Monday the region should be flood-free, said Dial Hoang, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey.
LA County saw it higher than normal rainfall in this rainy season, with particularly strong storms hitting the region during the Christmas and New Year holidays. The last rainy days in 2025 helped drain California except in drought conditionsaccording to the US Drought Monitor. And more rain may be on the way. The wettest months of the year are traditionally January and February.
