A heavy thunderstorm shook Southern California residents from their sleep overnight into Friday morning, and led to flash floods, multiple rescues, and later, one death caused by a toppled tree.
The storm, combined with earlier, torrential rain over the past week, has put the region on track for near-record November rainfall, the National Weather Service said.
In Winnetka, a person was killed when a tree fell onto two vehicles on the 7300 block of North Mason Avenue on Friday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Details about how the tree toppled remain under investigation, but it was not caused by a vehicle striking the tree, Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Charles Miller said. Recent rainstorms, however, have led to multiple reports of trees falling in the area.
The person’s gender and age were not available.
Before dawn Friday, residents in several parts of Orange and Los Angeles counties were warned of flash flooding of streets and creeks, along with possible mudslides.
In coastal Huntington Beach, rain flowed through some streets like streams, and authorities responded to numerous flooding and weather-related calls in the northern part of that city.
The Huntington Beach fire department conducted about 10 rescues on Thursday night, and police responded to additional rescues involving people trapped in vehicles because of the flooding, according to city spokeswoman Julie Toledo.
A portion of the roof on a home on Cumberland Drive in Huntington Beach collapsed. No injuries were reported, and all occupants evacuated before authorities arrived. Toledo said it was unclear whether the storm alone caused the collapse or whether pre-existing damage contributed.
Huntington Beach resident Lori Shepler went outside Friday morning to find what she believed to be about a foot of water covering the street, and nearby Greer Park completely flooded.
“I’ve lived in Huntington Beach for 30 years and I’ve heard never rain that intense before,” she said.
Flash flood warnings from the National Weather Service covered areas spanning from downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica to Mission Viejo in Orange County.
In Huntington Beach, much of the water had receded by Friday morning, but one neighborhood remained flooded after a local pond overflowed, spilling water into the streets and trapping parked cars.
In South Orange County, a huge thunderclap woke residents as the storm moved overhead early Friday.
“It was so loud I thought maybe a house exploded,” Sarah Tullen wrote in a Lake Forest Facebook group post, which featured dozens of residents sharing how they were rattled by the boom.
Another resident, Michelle Watson, wrote, “I haven’t been jolted out of my sleep like that since living in Northern Cal.” All the alarms went off in one stretch around Toledo Way in Lake Forest, she said, and “the entire house woke up.”
A flash flood alert on mobile phones woke some residents around 3:40 a.m., just five minutes before the lightning storm began.
“The high pitch of that alert definitely wakes you!” Kim Self wrote.
A series of storms beginning Nov. 13 has unleashed copious amounts of rain, more than four times the normal amount that typically falls in November in downtown Los Angeles, according to weather service reports.
In a normal November, downtown Los Angeles typically gets 0.78 of an inch of rain, but it has already seen about 3.5 inches this month.
A potent atmospheric river is blamed for causing at least a half-dozen deaths earlier this month as it rolled across much of California.
In Orange County, a 20% chance of rain is forecast for Saturday, with gusts up to 35 mph. Sunday is expected to bring light winds and sunny skies. In the Los Angeles area, forecasters said, light showers are possible into early Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.