California Storm Brings Flooding to Ventura County

Heavy rainfall in Southern California caused flooding and led to evacuations in Ventura County early on Thursday, with the National Weather Service warning that the storm would bring many additional hours of moderate to heavy rain to the region throughout the day.

Ventura County was hit hard overnight by a storm system that is moving along the California coast, with the Oxnard Civic Center receiving over three inches of rain an hour early on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

There was an evacuation order and evacuation warnings issued in parts of the city of Port Hueneme in Ventura County.

The city of Oxnard said early on Thursday that many streets and intersections were “heavily impacted” by standing water and asked residents to stay off the streets until the flood water receded. Some vehicles had already been stuck on the roads, the Oxnard Fire Department said. The Oxnard Police Department said on social media that several roads were closed on Thursday morning.

At 1:28 a.m., the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for parts of Ventura County including Oxnard because of an intense thunderstorm, but no tornado was detected.

What’s next?

The storm will move off the Southern California coast through Thursday night, forecasters with the Weather Prediction Center said. This could create a “prolonged and potentially significant rainfall event for a portion of Southern California,” they wrote.

Storm activity will be focused on Santa Barbara County, Ventura County and Los Angeles County. The rate of rainfall is forecast to be around 0.3 to 0.6 inches per hour, the National Weather Service said.

The National Weather Service advised people in the Santa Barbara area on Thursday morning to stay off the roads, warning that heavy rain there could fall at one inch per hour.

Flash and urban flooding and mud or debris flows will be a concern through Thursday, the National Weather Service said.

Here’s what to expect:

• The cloudy, cool and wet weather is expected to last in Southern California until at least Friday.

• After the storm moves over the Pacific, it is expected to turn inland over the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico by Saturday.

• The weather is expected to dry in Southern California over the weekend, and warmer temperatures are forecast for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Judson Jones contributed reporting.