Pacific storm brings heavy rain, flooding in California coastal cities

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) A Pacific storm battered parts of Southern California on Thursday, bringing heavy rain and street flooding that spelled trouble for holiday travel.

The downpour lashed coastal Ventura and Santa Barbara counties northwest of Los Angeles County, flooding areas of Port Hueneme, Oxnard and the city of Santa Barbara.

The National Weather Service said more than 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of rain fell per hour, causing flash flooding in Ventura County. Later in the morning, the storm brought another wave of flooding, with water starting to accumulate on streets in parts of Santa Barbara.

Sven Dybdahl, owner of Viva Oliva, an olive oil and vinegar shop in downtown Santa Barbara, said he had trouble finding a dry route to work Thursday morning, but most of the heavy rain and flooding had receded shortly before 11 a.m., he said. Grateful that the weather was only expected to be an issue for a few days at the end of the holiday shopping season, otherwise he would have worried about how the rain would affect his store’s bottom line.

There will be an impact, he said, but thankfully it’s happening very late.

The city of Port Hueneme issued evacuation orders for residences on four streets and warned of possible evacuations on four other streets. About 60 homes are affected by the order, all in senior communities, said firefighter Andy VanSciver, Ventura County fire spokesman. An evacuation center was set up at the university gymnasium.

He said three people in the senior community were taken to the hospital out of an abundance of caution and there were multiple instances of drivers being rescued from submerged vehicles.

The city of Oxnard said in a social media post that many streets and intersections were severely affected. The post said to stay off city streets for the next few hours until the water recedes.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Oxnard and Ventura at 1:28 a.m. due to high-severity thunderstorms, but no tornado activity was immediately observed, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post.

Hours later, Carlos Larios, manager of Heritage Coffee and Gifts in downtown Oxnard, said the storm didn’t affect their Thursday morning rush despite the overcast skies.

He said it’s surprising people still come in for coffee. I don’t think the rain will stop many people from getting out and about.

The center of the low-pressure system slowly moved south away from the coast as storms swept through Northern California earlier this week. Forecasters describe it as a truncated low, a storm isolated from the general flow of air from west to east that could linger for several days, increasing rainfall.

This system produces sporadic bands of precipitation rather than widespread widespread rainfall. Forecasters say low pressure will move slightly away from the coast on Thursday, taking away moisture and allowing some sunshine, but will return.

The San Diego Regional Weather Office warned that the storm is not going away but is gathering energy and its main core will move through the region overnight into Friday morning.

Meanwhile, Californians are gearing up for holiday travel and finishing preparations for Christmas. The Automobile Club of Southern California predicts that 9.5 million people in the region will travel during the year-end holiday season.

The Northeast was hit by an unexpectedly powerful storm earlier this week, and parts of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are still experiencing rain and wind damage. Parts of Maine along the Androscoggin and Kennebec rivers were hit particularly hard.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jon Palmer said flooding is receding across northern New England, but some localized areas are still in flood stage. Flood warnings remain in effect for parts of Maine and New Hampshire, he said.

At least four people died in the storm in Maine.

The storm knocked out power to 400,000 customers in Maine, and restoration efforts were still underway Thursday morning.

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Anchak reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press reporters Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles and Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report.