A powerful storm is bringing heavy rain and strong winds to Southern California, causing a Flash Flood Warning to be extended for parts of LA and Ventura counties. The atmospheric river is expected to dump several inches of rain over the next few days, raising the risk of flash flooding and triggering evacuation warnings in some areas. Significant rain is expected to continue through Friday, creating slick driving conditions and posing a risk of mudslides. The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Warning for a small portion of east-central LA County, which was later canceled, but damaging winds are still expected. Power outages have impacted thousands of customers across Southern California, with the largest outages reported in the San Fernando Valley and West L.A. area. California is working to capture as much storm water as possible, as the winter season is crucial for collecting and storing water for the drier months. Governor Gavin Newsom's office reports that last month's storms generated enough water to supply tens of thousands of households in Los Angeles alone. Interestingly, it has only rained 46 times on Christmas Day since 1892, making this storm system one of the wettest holidays in recent memory. Despite the rain, Los Angeles has never had a white Christmas, but the dream lives on.
