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OK, It's No Polar Vortex But The Weather Outside In SoCal Is Still Frightful
A large pine tree struck a Santa Barbara home Saturday during a powerful winter storm. (Photo courtesy Santa Barbara County Fire)
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Admittedly, most of us would take the steady wind and rain we're experiencing this weekend over wind chills in the negative double digitsthat hit the Midwest this week.
That said, this stormy weather in Southern California is pretty nasty: Flash flood warnings, road closures, high surf, rainfall already as high as 5 inches in 24 hours in some locations, mud and debris flows in burn scar areas, mandatory evacuations in Malibu.
Conditions are bad enough for the City of Malibu to cancel a meeting of the Disaster Response and Recovery committee.
The National Weather Service has a whole page on the region's "excessive rainfall forecasts."
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Here's the view from space:
#GOES17 satellite this morning shows the impressive storm system over the Pacific that will drive the rainfall in SE CA and AZ this evening through Sunday morning! #azwx #cawx pic.twitter.com/v7b5oHjM4K
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) February 2, 2019
And this from noon:
GOES-17 (Preliminary, Non-operational) GeoColor Satellite view as of 12pm - A strong cold front associated with a powerful upper level low pressure system is moving across #SoCal. Additional bands of rain behind the front will bring periods of rain through the evening.#LArain pic.twitter.com/wHvFvwnLKf
— SoCal Weather Watcher (@SoCalWXwatcher) February 2, 2019
Stu Ostro, who is a senior meteorologist with the Weather Channel, shared this cheery animation:
#cyclogenesis #cawx pic.twitter.com/OxAZarYeRL
— Stu Ostro (@StuOstro) February 2, 2019
And local weather experts are warning there's more to come:
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At 1145am...Heavy rain associated with the cold front is moving into the west LA metro from Beverly Hills down to Rancho Palos Verdes. Venice reported 0.23 inch in 10 minutes. Intensities like this will create street flooding and rapidly moving water. #CAwx #LARain pic.twitter.com/2U19kVse79
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) February 2, 2019
In Los Angeles County, the California Highway Patrol's twitter thread is basically one long Sigalert.
10:48 AM - Need a reason to stay home or stay where you are? Here it is. It’s a little rough on roads now...PLEASE sit tight for a few hours (if all possible). Many roadways closed or impacted by flooding/mud/debris flow. @CaltransDist7 @VCPublicWorks @ChpVcc pic.twitter.com/uC60axyj0z
— CHP Moorpark (@CHPMoorpark) February 2, 2019
A volunteer member of Ventura County Sheriff's search and rescue team was struck and killed Saturday while helping people at the scene of a traffic collision. Sheriff's officials identified the man killed as Jeff Dye. Authorities also said other personnel were injured.
Battalion 6 units on scene of a TC on NB 5 fwy, south of pyramid lake. @LACOFD units assisting @VENTURASHERIFF on a rollover TC were struck by a vehicle traveling NB severely injuring several 1st responders.Tragically one VC Deputy was killed. 9 persons transported to hospital. pic.twitter.com/qdWxNUedXL
— L.A. County Fire Department (@LACoFDPIO) February 2, 2019
Santa Barbara County Fire-Public Information Officer Mike Eliason has been keeping followers up-to-date on the scene there:
#CAstorm- High surf at Goleta Beach Saturday. pic.twitter.com/1Y4agSqhJh
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) February 2, 2019
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#CAstorm- A Caltrans worker stands in the northbound US 101 in Montecito Saturday where the nearby Romero Creek has overflowed and flooded the Highway. The Highway will remain closed until further notice. pic.twitter.com/LrC7wHByGI
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) February 2, 2019
#CAwx- A heavy downpour brought street flooding throughout the area, much like this on on Mission Street in Santa Barbara. Many motorists have been stuck driving in flooded streets. If you see a flooded roadway, please do not drive through. pic.twitter.com/lP2GozDsD4
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) February 2, 2019
#CAstorm- SBC FF’s survey the scene of a large eucalyptus tree that fell into a two-story apt. complex on Bolton Walk in Goleta Saturday morning. Multiple trees have toppled and wires have come down throughout the county as a result of this latest storm. https://t.co/gujtJTUSEj pic.twitter.com/RJ40zvV6dl
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) February 2, 2019
The Los Angeles Police Department is reminding anyone who does hit the road to exercise a whole lot of caution:
We are seeing significant rain moving into the LA area. Follow these tips to make your commute safer.
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) February 2, 2019
Wipers On=Lights On
Reduce Your Speed
Increase Following Distance
Avoid Distractions pic.twitter.com/MT6dP8n36g
Because you don't want to run into road conditions like these:
#lasd Avoid PCH from Ventura County line to Kanan rd. Multiple closers due to rock slides and debris flow pic.twitter.com/wDnz5AotLT
— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) February 2, 2019
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#SunValley: Flooding across all lanes of southbound I-5 near Sheldon St. Use an alternate route!
— Caltrans District 7 (@CaltransDist7) February 2, 2019
Crews are using two water pumps at this location, but they are having trouble keeping up with the amount of rain fall front the storm. pic.twitter.com/18xi9uFHmq
Read more about the storm: One Rescue Worker Dead And Evacuations Underway As Storm Hits SoCal
UPDATES:
1 p.m.: This article was updated with the identity of the Ventura County Sheriff Department volunteer who was killed and some additional details about overall weather conditions.
This article was originally published at 12:20 p.m..
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