Three Days of Rain, Snow Move Into Southern California

LOS ANGELES — Forecasters are calling for upward of 5 inches of rain throughout the area during the first major winter storm of the season, 25 homes in the Fish Fire burn area will be under mandatory evacuation orders beginning at 11 p.m. and one popular Southern California theme park has shut down as a precaution.

Six Flags Magic Mountain took to social media to announce the closure.

"Due to inclement weather, Six Flags Magic Mountain will be closed today, Monday, November 7," the theme park tweeted, adding that "All tickets for today will be valid on any other regular operating day through 12/31/22."

Duarte city officials say 25 homes in the Fish Fire burn area will be under mandatory evacuation orders beginning at 11 p.m. due to the impending storm and danger of flooding and debris flows.

Valley View Elementary School at 237 Mel Canyon Road will be CLOSED on Tuesday, along with various streets near the burn area, including Brookridge Road and Opal Canyon Road, Opal Canyon Road and Mel Canyon Road, Mel Canyon Road at Deerlane Drive, and Mel Canyon Road at Fish Canyon Road.

The Duarte Community Center, 1600Huntington Drive, will be opened at 11 p.m. as an evacuation center.

The storm, which began to effect the area Monday doused the morning commute and brought thick fog to some areas and prompted officials to issue a winter storm warning from 4 a.m. Tuesday through 10 a.m. Wednesday, although snow is expected to be restricted to higher elevations

"Periods of rain, mountain snow and strong and gusty winds will affect the area through Wednesday as a significant storm system originating out of the Gulf of Alaska moves over the region," according to the NWS.

The wet conditions are expected to last through Election Day and could bring as much as 6 to 12 feet of snow to elevations over 7,000 feet, with local amounts up to 20 inches, forecasters said.

Little snow is expected at the lower elevations but Mountaintop winds could reach up to 70 mph, according to the NWS.

NWS said that those along the coast and in the valleys could expect 1 to 3 inches of rain, while the foothills and lower mountain ranges could see 2 to 5 inches and the Antelope Valley could see as much as one and one-half inches.

Here in Los Angeles and the surrounding communities, heavier rainfall is expected Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday evening with thunderstorms possible during the same time period, NWS said.

Wind gusts of 40 mph are expected Monday in the mountains and high desert, increasing to 55 mph Tuesday. The weather service advised motorists to "prepare for slick roads and wintry travel in the mountains," as well as potential issues along the Grapevine on Tuesday night.

A flood watch has been issued for parts of Los Angeles County in recent burn scarred areas from Monday night through Tuesday. Los Angeles County mountains, Lancaster, Castaic, Palmdale, Pomona, Valencia, Santa Clarita, El Monte, Acton, East Los Angeles, San Gabriel, Pasadena, Newhall and Mount Wilson are under flood watches.

Flash flooding and debris flows caused by excessive rainfall are possible in the recent burn areas in Los Angeles County. The areas in the Fish, Route, Bobcat, Ranch2, Dam, and Lake fires are expected to be affected.

The wet weather will be accompanied by chillier days and nights. Daytime temperatures are expected to drop into the low 60s in the valleys and the downtown Los Angeles area Monday through Wednesday, with lows in the 50s Monday and Tuesday and the lower 40s Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday's highs are only expected to reach 58 in Pasadena and Santa Clarita and 53 in Lancaster. The Antelope Valley will see overnight temperatures below freezing level later this week, with lows of 33, 30 and 31 degrees expected Wednesday through Friday.

The storm is expected to linger into Wednesday before things begin to clear with a drying trend expected in the latter half of the week.

City News Service contributed to this story.