Californians Warned: Maybe Don't Drive for Christmas

California officials and weather forecasters urged holiday travelers to avoid the roads on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day ahead of a series of powerful winter storms that threatened to slam the state with relentless rains, heavy winds, and mountain snow through Friday, the AP reports. Millions of people are expected to travel across the state. They will likely meet hazardous, if not impossible, traveling conditions as several atmospheric rivers were forecast to make their way through the state, the National Weather Service warned. "If you're planning to be on the roads for the Christmas holidays, please reconsider your plans," said Ariel Cohen, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Los Angeles.

Forecasters said Southern California could see its wettest Christmas in years and warned about flash flooding, mudslides, and debris flows in areas burned by last January's wildfires. Los Angeles County officials said Tuesday they were knocking on the doors of some 380 particularly vulnerable households to order them to leave. Most areas saw scattered showers Tuesday morning, and the system was expected to pick up in the evening and intensify into Christmas Eve. Some regions will see rain and winds taper off Wednesday before another storm moves in.

Much of the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area were under a flood watch and a high wind warning through Friday. Forecasters warned of heavy snow and gusts for parts of the Sierra Nevada starting Tuesday that will create "near white-out conditions" and make it "nearly impossible" to travel through the mountain passes. There's also a risk of severe thunderstorms and a small chance of tornadoes along the northern coast. Southern California typically gets half an inch to 1 inch of rain this time of year, but this week many areas could see between 4 and 8 inches, National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Wofford said. It could be even more in the mountains. Gusts could reach 60 to 80 mph in parts of the central coast.

Potential widespread flooding, rockslides, and mudslides are highly likely, especially in areas burned by last January's deadly Palisades fire, he added. Officials expect multiple road closures and airport delays during the storms. Downed trees and powerlines are also possible. Parts of Los Angeles were under evacuation warnings starting Tuesday.