More downpours in store for soaked California with additional mudslides and debris flows possible

More severe holiday weather is forecast for an already soaked California, with parts of the state bracing for possible additional mudslides and debris flows.

Rain from a powerful winter storm that swept across Southern California was tapering off, but another storm system was on the horizon for Christmas Day with showers and possible thunderstorms.

Two deaths in the state may be related to the severe weather, authorities said.

Map shows areas under flood watches or warnings

A flood watch is in effect through Friday along the California coast from the Oregon border to Los Angeles and in central California.

CBS News weather producer Elie Morrison says "additional on-and-off heavy downpours moving onto the California coast through Friday" could result in an additional 2 to 5 inches of rain.

Forecasters said Southern California could see its wettest Christmas in years and warned of flash flooding and mudslides. Areas scorched by January wildfires got evacuation warnings as heavy rains and gusty winds brought mudslides and debris flows.

Many flood areas were in burn scar zones, which were stripped of vegetation by fire and are less able to absorb water.

San Bernardino County firefighters said they rescued people trapped in cars Wednesday when mud and debris rushed down a road leading into Wrightwood, a resort town in the San Gabriel Mountains about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles. It wasn't immediately clear how many were rescued. 

Firefighters also went door to door to check homes, and the area was under a shelter-in-place order, officials said. Some houses were inundated by flood waters.

"I've seen some heavy rain, but I've never seen rain last this long, as far as the heaviness and this amount of rain — and of course because of our fire, we've got a lot of mud and debris flow," said Janice Quick, the Wrightwood Chamber of Commerce president and 50-year resident, CBS LA reported. The area was ravaged by the Bridge Fire in 2024.

An evacuation order was issued for Lytle Creek, also in the San Gabriel Mountains, and residents around burn scar zones from the Airport Fire in Orange County were also ordered to evacuate.

Farther north, wind and flood advisories were issued for much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area.

The National Weather Service's San Francisco office said Wednesday that the system is expected to bring another round of strong winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms to that area through Thursday morning. Conditions are likely to remain unsettled through Friday, with continued threats of severe wind gusts and possibly tornadoes, particularly along the Central Coast. 

Statewide, some 158,000 homes and businesses had no power overnight, according to Find Energy.  

The storms were the result of multiple atmospheric rivers carrying massive plumes of moisture from the tropics during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.

Several roads, including a part of Interstate 5 near the Burbank Airport, closed due to flooding.

Southern California typically gets half an inch to 1 inch of rain this time of year, but this week many areas could see between 4 and 8 inches with even more in the mountains, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said.

Heavy snow and gusts created "near white-out conditions" in parts of the Sierra Nevada and made mountain pass trave treacherous. Officials said there was a "considerable" avalanche risk around Lake Tahoe, and a winter storm warning was in effect until Friday morning.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in six counties to allow state assistance for the storm response. The state deployed emergency resources and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties, and the California National Guard was on standby.

The California Highway Patrol reported a seemingly weather-related crash south of Sacramento in which a Sacramento sheriff's deputy died. James Caravallo, who was with the agency for 19 years, was apparently traveling at an unsafe speed, lost control on a wet road and crashed into a power pole, CHP Officer Michael Harper said via email.

In San Diego Wednesday morning, a large tree branch fell and killed a man just outside his home, reports the CBS affiliate there, KFMB-TV.

• Severe Weather
• California