The Santa Clarita Valley saw anywhere from half an inch to an inch of rain depending on the exact area during the “mild” storm that started on Saturday and was scheduled to wrap up Monday evening, according to the National Weather Service.
Joe Sirard, a meteorologist with the NWS, said the slow-moving storm cell that hit Southern California allowed the area to be moistened without producing any significant flooding. The NWS did put out a flash flood warning for the SCV that expired at 9 a.m. on Monday.
“It’s the kind of storm you hope to get in the winter,” Sirard said in a phone interview with The Signal. “It prevents damaging floods, which can be quite devastating to people, and also allows the moisture falling from the sky to soak better into the soil versus running off because it’s too much in such a short period of time. So, it’s really a beneficial rain.”
Sirard added that there was a slight chance of thunderstorms through Monday evening but that once that clears, the rest of the week should be clear.
The forecast for the rest of the week is as follows:
- Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63 degrees.
- Tuesday evening: Mostly clear, with a low around 40 degrees.
- Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62 degrees.
- Wednesday evening: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45 degrees.
- Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63 degrees.
- Thursday evening: Mostly clear, with a low around 42 degrees.
- Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 67 degrees.
- Friday evening: Partly cloudy, with a low around 46 degrees.
The SCV is set to stay dry through the end of January but could see another storm cell at the beginning of February, Sirard said.
The wet Monday resulted in some traffic issues, including a solo vehicle rollover on San Francisquito Canyon Road that saw a dark grey sedan flipped over on the side of the road. That incident did not result in any serious injuries or transports, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department officials.
First responder radio dispatch traffic indicated what seemed to be a higher than normal number of collisions on local streets and highways, but neither the California Highway Patrol nor the SCV Sheriff’s Station could immediately provide information Monday afternoon on whether there was a weather-related spike in traffic incidents.
