Life-threatening flash floods hit parts of Southern California on Friday afternoon, prompting the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue a series of urgent warnings across the region.
Newsweek has reached out to NWS San Diego, which issued the warnings, by phone for comment.
Why It Matters
The flood warning comes as heavy rain has battered parts of the United States throughout the first half of July. Over the Independence Day weekend, torrential rain lashed Central Texas, causing floods that killed more than 100 people. Dangerous floods also inundated parts of New Mexico, the Northeast, and the Mid-Atlantic
Flooding is the second-deadliest weather hazard in the U.S., behind extreme heat, according to the NWS.
What to Know
The NWS flash flood warnings for San Bernardino County will last through Friday afternoon, with meteorologists issuing several overlapping advisories as storms moved through the region.
At the time of the warnings, between 0.5 and 2 inches of rain had already fallen, and radar indicated ongoing heavy rainfall with rates up to 1.25 inches per hour in certain areas.
Additional rain was forecast, prompting warnings of imminent flash floods impacting creeks, urban areas, highways, and underpasses.
Multiple communities, including Big Bear City, Lucerne Valley, Hesperia, and Lake Arrowhead, were named in the advisories as at risk for flash flooding. Key transportation routes such as Highways 18 and 38 were at risk of flash flooding, with emergency officials urging drivers to avoid flooded roads. The threat extended to low-lying crossings and areas near burn scars from recent wildfires, significantly escalating risks of fast-moving debris flows.
What People Are Saying
NWS San Diego in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday: “More scattered showers and thunderstorms are anticipated this afternoon for the San Bernardino County mountains and the high desert today with a small chance that a stray t-storm could wander into the Inland Empire.”
NWS San Diego in a flash flood warning: “In hilly terrain there are hundreds of low water crossings which are potentially dangerous in heavy rain. Do not attempt to cross flooded roads. Find an alternate route. Move away from recently burned areas. Life-threatening flooding of creeks, roads and normally dry arroyos is likely. The heavy rains will likely trigger rockslides, mudslides and debris flows in steep terrain, especially in and around these areas.”
What Happens Next?
The NWS forecasted that rain would continue to fall over the next few hours, with there also being a chance that some rain will return to the region on Saturday.
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