Atmospheric river slams Southland

The storm delivers much-needed rain to the region but also the threat of mudslides.

- BY RONG-GONG LIN II, GAVIN J. QUINTON, CLARA HARTER AND JASMINE MENDEZ

A MANNEQUIN faces umbrella-toting shoppers, reflected in an Armani Exchange store window, at the Citadel Outlets in Commerce.

(ALLEN J. SCHABEN Los Angeles Times)

The most powerful band of a large atmospheric river storm slammed into Southern California on Saturday, dumping much-needed rain across the region but also bringing mudslide dangers to communities still reeling from January’s firestorms.

The storm flooded some streets and highways, sent mud and rocks sliding onto some canyon roads and made for treacherous driving conditions.

The weather probably contributed to at least two deaths in Northern California and on the Central Coast. But as of Saturday evening, there were no reports of major damage to property in Southern California, including in the burn-scarred neighborhoods of Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Malibu.

As of Saturday afternoon, the storm had dumped 2 to 3 inches of rain across the Greater Los Angeles area, and 3 to 6 inches in the foothills and mountains of the Transverse Ranges. A few spots got as much as 8 inches of rain, said Ariel Cohen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Oxnard.

"This was indeed a significant storm system. And many folks experienced significant impacts, with numerous reports of flooded roadways/freeways, rockslides and mudslides," Cohen said. "What's key is the tremendous preparedness efforts that have been ongoing many days in advance of the storm ... have helped mitigate impacts-preventing some reasonable worst-case impacts from coming to fruition."

Scattered showers were expected through Sunday. There was a slight chance of thunderstorms late Saturday, and an accompanying risk of gusty winds, hail and heavy rain that could produce flash flooding anywhere, given the saturation of the soil, the National Weather Service said.