Storm-hit Southern California was at risk on Friday (Dec 26) of more floods hampering millions of motorists traveling after Christmas, but the National Weather Service predicts a drier weekend.
The holiday deluge that started in earnest on Christmas Eve was spawned by the region’s latest atmospheric storm, a vast airborne current of dense moisture siphoned from the Pacific, that swept inland over the greater Los Angeles area.
It dumped 6 inches of rain in the Los Angeles area with up to 18 inches of rain in the mountains, washing out some roads, and spurred evacuations and some shelter-in-place orders.
An additional 1-to-3 inches of rain is expected on Friday, said Tom Kines, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather, a commercial forecasting company.
“Our overall picture is that there’s just one more day of this mess, mostly across Southern California, specifically in the LA area,” Kines said on Friday. “We still have some issues today with bouts of heavy rain, but this weekend is mainly dry, thankfully.”
More than 14.5 million Californians were expected to travel by car over the Christmas holiday, according to AAA. The coming drier weather should make traveling easier, after days of slick or flooded roads, forecasters said.