(The Center Square) – The San Francisco Bay Area took much of the brunt of Tuesday’s storm in the state, with flooded streets, downed trees, a chance of thunder and as much as 16 inches of rain.
But the atmospheric river is expected to become more of a moderate stream by the time it reaches Los Angeles County around 10 p.m. Tuesday.
The lighter rain means a lesser risk of mudslides in the scar areas from the Palisades and Eaton fires, said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, north of Los Angeles.
“Right now, we don’t anticipate anything other than minor debris flows out of the burn areas,” Sirard told The Center Square Tuesday. “There could be some localized flooding of roads.”
The heaviest rain could be up to 0.75 inches per hour in Los Angeles County, Sirard said. “We don’t anticipate rainfall will be high enough to produce any issues.”
The National Weather Service said rain would continue through Wednesday in areas stretching from the Bay Area to Los Angeles.
In anticipation of the storm, the California Department of Transportation on Tuesday again closed Pacific Coast Highway, which connects Santa Monica and Malibu, a city devastated by the Palisades Fire. Caltrans said the closure would start at 3 p.m. Tuesday and last until at least Friday. The highway was reopened Monday with some restrictions for the first time since the fire started Jan. 7.
The Palisades and Eaton fires were declared 100% contained Friday by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Northern California, meanwhile, is expected to feel a greater impact from Tuesday’s storm than Southern California, said Brayden Murdock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey, south of San Francisco.
Winds were 10 mph with 20 mph gusts in San Francisco and faster in other parts of the Bay Area, Murdock told The Center Square Tuesday.
In fact, winds were as fast as 88 mph in Marin County, which saw 16.23 inches of rain at Mount Tamalpais, also known as Mount Tam, Murdock said.
Elsewhere, rain varied from 2 to 5 inches in various parts of the Bay Area, Murdock said.
There was a 10% chance of thunderstorms, he added.
