A powerful storm brought flooding to roadways across Ventura County and a brief tornado warning, with more rain in the forecast through Friday.
Neighborhoods in Oxnard and Ventura were hard hit overnight, leaving streets and intersections submerged in water. By Thursday morning, emergency crews were urging residents to stay home and off the roads as vehicles were caught in the standing water. The National Weather Service said the Oxnard Civic Center saw more than 3 inches of rain in one hourand more than 1.54 inches of rain fell on the Ventura Auto Center in 15 minutes.
The agency briefly issued tornado warnings for the Port Hueneme, Oxnard, El Rio, Saticoy and San Buenaventura areas just before 1:30 a.m. and again at 2:30 a.m., but there was no evidence a tornado touched down, according to the National Weather Service. The agency issued multiple flash flood warnings just before 4 a.m. further inland and special warnings for possible waterspouts and high winds near Point Mugu.
Officials urged people to be cautious. “Many of the streets and intersections are heavily impacted by flooding. Please stay off the city streets for the next several hours until the water recedes. Standing water can cause vehicles to stall and may become trapped,” the Oxnard Fire Department said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
According to Ventura County, flooding hit areas around Hueneme Bay Club in the city of Port Hueneme, prompting some residents to be evacuated. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department said residents near the Hueneme Bay Club in the city of Port Hueneme were ordered to evacuate their homesand residents of a nearby neighborhood were advised to be on standby to leave their homes if conditions did not improve.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Forecast
The National Weather Service said there was a moderate risk of flooding mostly in coastal Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties as well as the Santa Monica Mountains. There were also concerns about mountain ranges along the coast in Ventura and Santa Barbara.
While this storm is massive, it will move slowly. And that could cause heavy rain, thunderstorms and flooding on roadways and creeks.
The region saw scattered but sustained showers Wednesday.
Timing
Thursday: Heavy showers, chance of thunderstorms in some areas.
Friday: Moderate showers.
Saturday: Light showers, with moderate rain in some inland valleys, giving way to partly cloudy skies and strong winds.
Sunday: Partly cloudy, giving way to slightly warmer temperatures and sun.
Monday: (Christmas Day): Slightly warmer.
Conditions
The weather service issued a special marine weather warning for the Central Coast on Wednesday morning due to the potential for waterspouts and strong winds. There was a slight chance that the conditions would cause a tornado or waterspout between Point Conception in Santa Barbara County and Los Angeles County, according to the forecast.
A flood watch in in effect for most of Southern California. Residents in San Luis Obispo, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties should be on the lookout for debris flows, flash flooding, general flooding and overflowing rivers, the weather service said.
Areas along the Santa Ynez and Santa Monica coastal ranges could see rainfall rates of an inch an hour Wednesday and Thursday from isolated thunderstorms. Other areas could expect to see 0.30 to 0.60 of an inch of rain per hour.
The storm could dump 2 to 5 inches of rain in coastal areas and up to 12 inches in coastal mountains.
Concerns
The storm is expected to bring flooding for most of the region through Thursday, according to the weather service, which cautioned drivers to avoid roads that appear to be underwater.
“Rain may be locally heavy at times, & numerous floods are likely,” the weather service said in its social media channels. “Flash & urban flooding are expected, & debris/mud flows will be possible. Turn around, don’t drown!”