Santa Clarita Valley residents were advised to be careful on this wet Christmas holiday, after rain soaked the valley on Wednesday and, after a bit of a break, was expected to resume on Christmas Day, according to National Weather Service officials.
Strong winds were reported earlier Wednesday morning, reaching as high as 70-80 mph with thunderstorm gusts, according to Mike Wofford with the NWS.
But as of 1 p.m. on Wednesday, the winds significantly calmed down with only 10 mph winds and gusts going up to 10-15 mph, according to Joe Sirard, a meteorologist with the NWS.
However, winds were expected to pick up again late Thursday night into Friday morning, Sirard said.
The rain was expected to taper off around 3-4 p.m. on Wednesday, mimicking shower patterns off-and-on, Sirard said.
There will be some dryer periods going into early Thursday afternoon, but the rain is expected to pick back up late Thursday evening into Friday morning, Sirard said.
Sirard added that Hurst Fire burn scars have some debris flow in certain areas, but there have been no reports of any major issues as of the publication of this story.
“We’ve had a number of reports of damage as a result of that (winds). And of course, with all the rain we’ve had numerous reports of flooding issues around the area. Several inches of water on, on some of the roadways,” Wofford said in a phone interview on Wednesday morning.
The roads will still be impacted on Christmas Day with the traveling conditions being dangerous, Wofford said.
There were flash flood warnings in various areas of the SCV, Sirard said.
“Any more rain really could exacerbate any existing flooding or cause flooding. So, folks need to just be aware that we’re still going to have some urban flooding problems this afternoon. (There is) still the possibility of some debris flows below burn areas, and that sort of thing,” Sirard said.
Wofford advises residents not to drive if they do not have to and stay off the roads. But if people must travel for the holiday, drive slowly, he said.
Going into Friday and Saturday, the showers will be lighter, Wofford said.
Wofford added that dry weather is expected to return by Saturday, going into Sunday.
“We have a lot of water on the roadway, so we encourage people to slow down, maintain a safe following distance. And if you’re planning on driving anywhere, just make sure your vehicle equipment is working, with your wipers, lights, brakes, tires, those are all good and serviceable,” said Officer Carlos Burgos-Lopez, public information officer with the California Highway Patrol Newhall-area Office.
“I mean, there’s going to be extra traffic, but with the wet weather, it makes it even, you know, even harder just to plan ahead. Give yourself ample time to get to your destinations,” said Sgt. Juan Muralles with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.
Sgt. Ryan Elsee with the station said deputies had only received about two calls regarding traffic collisions and about seven calls regarding road hazards or trees blocking the roadways as of Wednesday afternoon.
One tree blocked the roadway on the 28600 block of Lincoln Avenue in Val Verde, and L.A. County Fire Department personnel requested backup crews to help chainsaw the trees that had fallen on Wednesday morning.
There were no active road closures in the station’s area of responsibility, according to Elsee.
Burgos-Lopez said that the CHP had received over 180 calls that potentially involved reckless driving, trees or other road hazards blocking lanes and defective signs by Wednesday afternoon. But, the CHP received about 31 calls involving traffic collisions on highways since midnight on Wednesday morning.
The CHP listed road closures as follows:
- The Old Road between Sagecrest Circle and Calgrove Boulevard.
- Del Valle Road and Hasley Canyon Road.
Burgos-Lopez added that CHP is monitoring the freeways, particularly the truck route on southbound Interstate 5. There is no official closure as of the publication of this story, but if deemed unsafe, CHP officers will shut it down.
