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What You Need To Know If You Got That Flash Flood Alert
If you are current in an area shaded above, a flash flood warning is in effect for you
(
Courtesy WARN (Warning, Alert & Response Network)
)
At 2:16 pm today (Friday, Feb. 24) the National Weather Service in Oxnard issued a flash flood warning for large swaths of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
The loud, impossible to ignore alert was distributed to cell phones all across the region (and outside areas of concern) via the Wireless Emergency Alert System.
"Think of it as flooding but you turn up the dial. It's a bit more dangerous," said Lisa Phillips, meteorologist with the NWS who issued the alert.
Flash Flood Warning continues for Los Angeles CA, Glendale CA and Santa Clarita CA until 10:00 PM PST pic.twitter.com/p0ljIAHQfx
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) February 24, 2023
The alert is in place until 10 p.m, and warns that the following locations could experience flash flooding:
Los Angeles County
- Burbank
- Griffith Park
- Universal City
- North Hollywood
- Pasadena
- Hollywood
- Downtown Los Angeles
- Van Nuys
- Beverly Hills
- Alhambra
- Mount Wilson
- Encino
- Northridge
- Santa Clarita
- Chatsworth
- Woodland Hills
- Whittier
- West Covina
- Glendora
- San Dimas
Ventura and Santa Barbara counties
- Thousand Oaks
- Simi Valley
- Santa Barbara
- Camarillo
- Lompoc
- Fillmore
- Ojai
- Montecito
- Santa Ynez
- Point Conception
- Chatsworth
- Moorpark
- Santa Paula
- Carpinteria
- Solvang
- Vandenberg Air Force Base
- Summerland
- Isla Vista
- Rincon Point
- La Conchita.
This alert includes all recent burn scars. The NWS alert says that as much as four inches of rain is expected to fall on locations below 4,500 feet in the coming hours.
What to know about these warnings
Here's an excerpt from our guide to understanding flood warnings:
- Flood advisories are how the NWS begins to raise the alarm. The goal is to give people enough time to take action.
- Flood watches are your indicators to get prepared to move.
- A flood warning is issued when a hazardous weather event is imminent or already happening. When one is issued for your area, you need to get to higher ground immediately.
- A flash flood warning is issued when a flash flood is coming or in progress. Flash floods are sudden and violent floods that can start within minutes.
Read more: Flash Flood Warnings? Watches? Here’s What You Need To Know
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Important life-saving information about driving through flooded roads
Don't do it.
As L.A.. City Fire Captain Erik Scott told our newsroom last month during the first storms of the year:
"If you can't see the ground beneath you, when you're driving, don't drive through that area."
From our guide: What You Should Do If You End Up Driving In A Flooded Area
According to the National Weather Service, just 12 inches of rushing water can carry away most cars, and two feet can carry away SUVs and trucks.
Flooded roads can cause a vehicle to stall and severely damage it. Water can flood the engine, warp the brake rotors, make you lose power steering and even short out the electrical components.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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