Rainy weather has been responsible for an uptick in traffic collisions this week in Santa Clarita, and meteorologists believe a second storm is already on its way.
A single vehicle swerved across multiple lanes on Interstate 5 before completely overturning Thursday.
“The car swerved through all four lanes and landed upside down,” said Leslie Lua, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The vehicle, a gray Mazda, had landed in a ditch on the eastbound side of Highway 126, according to California Highway Patrol logs.
At 5:01 p.m., another rollover crash was reported to officials on the northbound side of the I-5 south of the Magic Mountain exit.
The second collision occurred after the single vehicle went over the freeway’s right side embankment and overturned, according to Supervisor Michael Pittman of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The ambulances responding to the scene were canceled and there were reports of only minor injuries, Pittman said.
At around 7:15 p.m. firefighters responded to another single-vehicle crash after receiving reports of a car striking a pole on La Madrid Drive and Plum Canyon Road, according to Pittman. One person was transported to a hospital.
The tumultuous conditions on Santa Clarita’s roadways that resulted in dozens of traffic collisions and solo vehicle crashes throughout the day was a continuation of what has been seen throughout the rainy week.
Carol Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Thursday that extended storms that have intermittent levels of rainfall can have a number of impacts on driving conditions, including: flooded roadways, ponding water that causes hydroplaning, and mudslides and rockslides that create traffic hazards on canyon roads.
“Sometimes when we go through a long dry period, there can be oil on the roads,” said Smith. “And that can cause the roads to be even more slick than they would be otherwise.”
The rain, according to Smith, is set to lighten up heading into the weekend.
“It’s going to keep raining (Thursday night) into Friday,” Smith said. “Friday morning it will taper off, under two-tenths of an inch. Friday afternoon into Saturday morning there will be light showers and by Saturday afternoon it should go away.”
“But then of course we have another storm heading towards us and we’ll start to see some rain again on Monday,” Smith added.
The second storm is projected to last throughout the coming week, Smith said.
“We just need to slow down, increase following distances, turn your lights on and give yourself plenty of time to get where you need to be going,” said Smith. “All it takes is one person who is not being cautious.”
