A second storm within one week is pummeling California with heavy rain and life-threatening flooding.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued a state of emergency for counties including Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura, where floodwaters and mudslides have swept through roadways.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Feb 06, 2024, 3:17 PM EST
Latest forecast
The heaviest rain is moving south of Los Angeles, toward San Diego, on Tuesday afternoon. By Tuesday night, the heavy rain will reach Arizona.
An aerial view of the Los Angeles River swollen by storm runoff as a powerrful atmospheric river storm continues to impact southern California, Feb. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Flood watches will remain in effect through Tuesday night across Southern California, from Los Angeles to San Diego, as well as in parts of Nevada and Arizona.
A tornado warning has also been issued in the San Diego area.
Through Thursday, an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain is possible in parts of Southern California. With the ground already so saturated, mudslides and flash flooding will remain a threat for much of the week.
Workers shore up the Pacific Ocean coastline next to homes as a powerful atmospheric river storm continues to impact southern California, Feb. 5, 2024, near Malibu, Calif.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Firefighters rescue a woman from a homeless encampment that became surrounded by floodwater in the Santa Ana River during a rainstorm, Feb. 5, 2024, in San Bernardino, Calif.
Ethan Swope/AP
-ABC News’ Melissa Griffin
Feb 06, 2024, 12:27 PM EST
Los Angeles mayor: 'This storm continues … take precautions'
"This storm continues -- and that means we still need Angelenos to take precautions," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass warned Tuesday.
Periods of rain will continue Tuesday creating dangerous conditions on the roads and increasing the chance of mudslides and flooding, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said.
This aerial view shows a man shovelling mud after a landslide pushed a tree into his and his neighbor's houses, Feb. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles.
David Mcnew/AFP via Getty Images
No fatalities have been reported in LA, Bass said.
Crews have responded to 307 mudslides and 257 fallen trees, Crowley said.
People stand near a garage that a landslide and flash flood smashed through in a hillside residential neighborhood, Feb. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles.
David Mcnew/AFP via Getty Images
If you must go outside, use caution, Crowley warned. Slow down if driving and always be on the lookout for downed power lines and trees, she said.
The mayor commended residents who have checked on each other in hard-hit communities and stressed that everyone should check on their neighbors.
People gather where a home was destroyed by a mudslide as a powerful long-duration atmospheric river storm, Feb. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Cars sit buried by a mudslide, Feb. 5, 2024, in the Beverly Crest area of Los Angeles.
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
The "historic" rain is expected to taper off late Tuesday night, National Weather Service meteorologist Ariel Cohen said.
There’s a chance for more atmospheric rivers this spring, Cohen said.
Los Angeles averages 14.25 inches of rain for an entire year. So far this year, LA has recorded nearly 11 inches of rain, or 75% of the city's annual rainfall.
And the rain is still falling. As of Tuesday morning, the three-day rainfall totals have climbed to: 12.2 inches in San Bernardino County; 12 inches in Bel Air in Los Angeles County; 9.4 inches in Santa Barbara County; 8.7 inches in Ventura County and 7.6 inches in downtown Los Angeles.
Feb 06, 2024, 7:39 AM EST
Southern California sees historic rainfall
As of early Tuesday, almost a foot of rain had fallen in Los Angeles' Bel Air neighborhood over a period of less than three days, according to the National Weather Service
As of Monday, downtown Los Angeles had recorded 7.03 inches of rain in two days, making it the city's wettest two-day period since 1956 when 7.44 inches of rain fell. It's also the third wettest two days in Los Angeles' history, with records dating back to 1877.
Water rages past a cart filled with items used by homeless people living along the Los Angeles River as the second and more powerful of two atmospheric river storms inundates Los Angeles on Feb. 5, 2024.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
Los Angeles typically gets 14.25 inches of rain over an entire year. Since the start of 2024, the sprawling Southern California city has recorded almost 11 inches of rain -- 75% of its annual average.
