Southern California Braces For Wet Weekend
LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) — A series of winter storms bearing down on California could be the largest system the region has seen in the last decade, the National Weather Service said Saturday.
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Forecaster Says Coastal Areas Could Get 2-4 Inches, With Mountains Getting Double That, KNX 1070's Ed Mertz Reports
Southern California will be hit especially hard by the storms, and officials are preparing for flooding and posting mudflow warnings for burn areas in the San Gabriel Mountains and in Malibu.
"This is one big mother and it's going to have a lot of waves in it," said Bill Hoffer, a spokesman for the agency's forecast office in Oxnard.
The National Weather Service said a low pressure system off Oregon has created a band moisture that starts in Hawaii and points directly at Central California.
Southern California could see 2 to 4 inches along the coasts and valleys with triple that in the mountains.
There already have been reports of flooding across all lanes of the southbound Interstate 5 south of the Antelope Valley Freeway interchange, according to California Highway Patrol. Residents who live in flood-prone roads in La Canada-Flintridge have been warned to move their cars off the road.
Meantime, the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works has issued a "Phase 1" Mudflow Forecast Alert for eight of 24 areas near recent wildfires.
The Alert covers Sunland-Tujunga, communities in the Angeles National Forest, La Crescenta, La Canada Flintridge, the canyons and ridges of east Sierra Madre, as well as the Malibu Canyons between Corral, Latigo and Las Flores.
A Phase 1 alert means small debris and mudflows are possible and streets can become blocked as well. Ready-to-fill sandbags are available at all neighborhood fire stations, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department Web site. For a complete list of locations, call your local fire station or visit:
»The Los Angeles Fire Department
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