California girded Sunday for a “potentially historic” storm that put much of the state on high alert, with officials expecting life-threatening damage and issuing evacuation orders or warnings in parts of Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Monterey counties.
Rain totals that were forecast for Los Angeles County worsened Sunday, with totals generally rising by about 2 inches in some areas. It’s now possible that Pasadena could see up to around 10 inches of rain; Northridge, Pomona and Santa Clarita could be hit by about 7 inches; downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach and Westlake Village about 6 inches; and Redondo Beach about 5 inches.
The forecast also worsened for Orange County, the Inland Empire and the San Bernardino Mountains, especially for Monday. The National Weather Service now warns of “locally catastrophic and life-threatening flooding” for those areas, with officials stating “the system will stall, bringing heavy rain through Monday afternoon.” Between 5 to 7 inches of rain could drench Anaheim, Irvine and Ontario.