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This storm is living up to the hype. 60 mile-per-hour winds and heavy downpours have been wreaking havoc in So Cal today, resulting in flash flood warnings, power outages, and road closures.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, particularly in foothill areas that were recently burned in fires. According to KTLA, the 101 and parts of the Pacific Coast Highway were temporarily shut down near Ventura, as debris flows and minor flooding were reported where a fire burned much of the Solimar Beach area last month.
101 Highway Minor FloodingSolimar burn area: 101 Highway minor flooding #VCStorms Source:Taken at 9:27am by Ventura County Sheriff Office of Emergency Services
Posted by Ventura County Sheriff OES on Sunday, January 31, 2016
Severe Thunderstorm warning in effect until 1:30 pm for NE Ventura and NW Los Angeles Counties#cawx #larain pic.twitter.com/CoHQKHqarE
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 31, 2016
CBS L.A. reported that firefighters rescued a man from the Los Angeles River, which rose quickly this morning as the storm poured .75 inches of rain. The man was pulled to safety near the 4th Street bridge just east of Downtown, and was reportedly uninjured.
LA River looks pretty full today #ElNino #LArain pic.twitter.com/XzWvYnb85K
— Katherine Davis-Young (@KDYJournalist) January 31, 2016
The L.A. County Department of Public Works is having a busy day:
We're monitoring #LARAIN storm events from our operations center this morning @LAPublicWorks pic.twitter.com/TimPUHuk7s
— LA Co Public Works (@LACoPublicWorks) January 31, 2016
There have been some accidents out on the road, so drive carefully, and anticipate having to adjust your route if there are closures. Two big rigs crashed on the 5 freeway near the Grapevine, which is closed:
I-5 south at Smokey Bear Rd closed till 2 pm. Overturn big rig. Alternates: SR14 or US101. pic.twitter.com/nszfyPnsKp
— Caltrans District 7 (@CaltransDist7) January 31, 2016
And how bout that wind? One man said that the wind was so strong at the Metro Green Line station platform in Crenshaw that it was "blowing folks down." Yikes.
This enormous palm frond crashed to the ground outside my apartment: I tried to go outside to get a better picture, but two more fronds flew by my head, so now I'm too scared to go outside:
