Torrential rains return to Southern California, prompting flash flood warnings before moving east

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The third storm in just over a week drenched Southern California on Friday and prompted some local flooding but caused no major widespread damage before heading east into the mountains and south toward Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula.

The series of storms put Southern California on track for near-record November rainfall, the National Weather Service said. The region has received copious amounts of rain since Nov. 13, more than four times the normal amount that typically falls during the month in downtown Los Angeles, according to weather service reports.

Residents were warned before dawn Friday of flash flooding of streets, creeks and streams and possible mudslides in parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties. Some vehicles were stuck in floodwaters near Culver City before dawn, the weather service reported.

In coastal Huntington Beach, rainwater rushed through streets like a stream, and one neighborhood flooded after a local pond overflowed, spilling water into the streets and trapping parked cars.

By midday Friday, there was a mix of clouds and sun along the coast as the storm moved east over the mountains, dropping about 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of snow in the resort community of Big Bear with the potential for more into Saturday, said Sebastian Westerink, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego.