Winter rains fall, and so do the records

Another major storm is forecast, bringing threats of more flooding and slides.

- BY HANNAH FRY AND ALEX WIGGLESWORTH

ALLEN J. SCHABEN Los Angeles Times

GROUNDSKEEPER Manuel Nava leaps over a flooded stretch of Pacific Coast Highway in Sunset Beach.

California’s already wet winter is breaking rainfall records, with another powerful storm moving in this weekend along with the threat of new flooding and mudslides.

After a remarkable dry streak in 2024 that helped fuel last January's firestorms, this winter is making up for it, with some areas already approaching average rain totals for the entire season.

"It’s been an interesting season," said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. "We’re way above normal for precipitation."

The latest storm will usher in gusty wind, more precipitation and possible flooding in burn scar areas.

The cold front moving into the state from the northwest is expected to reach the Los Angeles area by Saturday and bring rain and high-elevation snow through Sunday. In Los Angeles, the rain is expected to be less punishing than the previous storm that triggered significant flooding, road closures and rescues, but it will be heavier along the Central Coast, Wofford said.

The one bright spot is fire conditions. With L.A. about to mark the first anniversary of the Palisades and Eaton fires, the wet winter offers some protections — at least in the short term.

"The amount of rain that we've gotten is likely going to ensure that we're not going to have any large fires in the next couple of weeks, but beyond that we really can’t say," said David Acuña, a battalion chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "If we were to transition into a dry spell, it does not take very long for those green and brown grasses to dry out completely."

A lot will depend on how much rain falls in the next several months, he added.