New Year’s Day Storm Brings Heavy Rain, Flood Watches

The new year is starting soggy across Southern California, with steady rain continuing into New Year’s Day after soaking the region on New Year’s Eve.

The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for the entire region through Thursday evening, warning of possible flooding as the storm system lingers. In addition, western Los Angeles County is under a Flood Advisory until 8:15 a.m. Thursday.

Forecasters say the heaviest rain is expected between 2 a.m. and 6 p.m. today, with some communities potentially seeing rainfall rates of up to one inch per hour. Most areas are expected to average between a quarter- and a half-inch per hour.

Overall, the storm is forecast to drop one to two inches of rain across much of Southern California, with foothill and mountain areas seeing two to five inches. Wind gusts could reach 20 to 40 miles per hour, while snow levels are expected to remain above 6,000 feet.

The rain is expected to taper off by Friday, bringing mainly dry conditions, but forecasters say another storm system could arrive in the Southland soon after.