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The wet weather will bring relief to Southern California after a prolonged period of dryness, but there’s concern that any bursts of heavy rainfall could cause flooding.
By Amy Graff
Amy Graff is a reporter on The Times’s weather team.
- Jan. 25, 2025, 9:17 p.m. ET
The Santa Ana winds that have fueled wildfires for weeks in Southern California finally stopped blowing on Friday, and an unusually long period of dry weather was on track to end in Los Angeles County as a cold storm approached on Saturday.
The system was expected to deliver light to moderate rain that will fall intermittently Saturday night through Monday. The weather will give the arid landscape and withered vegetation a much-needed soaking and benefit firefighting crews.
Still, the forecast showed a small risk that bursts of heavy rain could cause flash floods and mudslides around areas of Los Angeles County recently scarred by wildfires, including the northwest (Hughes fire), east (Bridge fire), southwest (Franklin and Palisades fires) and especially the central area where the Eaton fire burned.
The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for those areas from 4 p.m. Sunday to noon on Monday, when there is the highest chance for rain and risk for thunderstorms.
Kristan Lund, a meteorologist with the Weather Service, called flooding the worst-case scenario for the conditions in Los Angeles, where there is up to a 20 percent chance that debris flows could damage roads and structures.
“What we’re telling people is to avoid the area during the watch period,” Ms. Lund said. “Use sandbags to protect your property, and if residents decide to stay, make sure to stock up on supplies in case road access is blocked.”
