A potent winter storm unleashed heavy rain and snow across Southern California on Wednesday, December 24, 2025, creating dangerous conditions for holiday travellers and raising the threat of mudslides in wildfire-scarred regions. The powerful system, an atmospheric river, brought near white-out conditions to mountain areas and prompted urgent evacuation warnings for vulnerable communities.
Evacuations and Emergency Response
Forecasters warned the region could experience its wettest Christmas in years, with flash flooding a major concern. Areas burned by wildfires in January were under particular threat from potential debris flows and landslides. In Los Angeles County, officials went door-to-door on Tuesday at approximately 380 homes in high-risk zones, ordering residents to evacuate.
Emergency crews were already responding to incidents early Wednesday. The Los Angeles Fire Department rescued a man who became trapped in a drainage tunnel in northwest LA that fed into a swollen river. Firefighters lowered a ladder through an opening to extract the man, who was later evaluated but reported uninjured.
Authorities have taken proactive steps to mitigate damage, including installing K-rail barriers to catch debris from burn scars and providing free sandbags to residents. James Dangerfield, an 84-year-old Altadena resident, said his family and neighbours had placed sandbags earlier in the week, though he planned to stay home with family for Christmas Eve.
Widespread Impacts and Travel Chaos
The storm's impacts were felt across the state. Along the coast, areas including Malibu were under flood warnings, with parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties also monitoring for flooding. Photos from Ventura showed a children's play area at the Ventura Beach RV Resort completely inundated by floodwaters.
Transportation officials reported numerous highway and lane closures in Los Angeles and Ventura counties due to storm impacts, urging people to limit unnecessary travel. "If you're planning to be on the roads for the Christmas holidays, please reconsider your plans," urged Ariel Cohen, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Los Angeles.
Further north, the situation was also severe. Much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area were under a flood watch and high wind warning. In Monterey on the central coast, more than 5,000 people lost power Tuesday night after a power pole was damaged.
Atmospheric River Brings Extreme Rainfall and Snow
The storm is driven by a strong atmospheric river, a long, narrow band of concentrated moisture moving from the tropics. The National Weather Service stated the system would continue to bring heavy rain to Southern California through Friday, with flash and urban flooding possible.
While Southern California typically receives only half an inch to 1 inch (1.3 to 2.5 cm) of rain in late December, this week many areas could see a deluge of 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm), with even higher amounts in the mountains. Wind gusts could reach 60 to 80 mph (97 to 128 kph) along parts of the central coast.
In the Sierra Nevada, a prolonged heavy snowfall event began and was forecast to continue through Friday, creating "near white-out conditions" that would make travel over mountain passes "nearly impossible." The storm had already caused significant damage in Northern California, leading to water rescues and at least one death.
The state has deployed emergency resources and first responders to several coastal and Southern California counties, with the California National Guard remaining on standby as multiple atmospheric rivers are expected to impact the state during one of its busiest travel weeks.
