Southern California - From fire weather to mud flows

Southern California residents haven't had much of a break these first few weeks of 2025. A wind shift has turned fire weather conditions into heavy rain and snow, with mud and debris flows happening in burn scar areas. Fire weather shifts east into the Desert Southwest on Monday.

More than 57,000 acres have burned in January 2025 alone due to major Santa Ana wind events quickly spreading fire ignitions. Although common for this time of year, several potentially dangerous situation issuances were sent out by the National Weather Service - rare occurrences saved for the most extreme conditions. Weather & Radar weather reporter, Jonathan Petramala, recorded some of the devastation.

After more fires broke out in the middle of last week, a shift in the winds brought a wet and snowy weekend to California, stretching to the areas that need it most right now due to the recent fires. Mud and debris flows were reported over the weekend in the burn scar areas. More rain and snow will last through Tuesday.

The WeatherRadar shows rain and mountain snow moving through southern California and into the Desert Southwest as a large low-pressure shifts east. Through the next 2 days, up to half an inch of rain could pile up with another 3 to 8 inches of mountain snow bringing some relief to southern California, especially since drought conditions have increased to extreme conditions (level 3 out of 5) recently.

The low pressure poses a new fire critical risk on Monday, but for the Arizona - New Mexico border as warm, dry air is pulled in from northern Mexico. The WindRadar shows gusts exceeding 30 mph which could easily fan any flames. Avoid anything that could produce sparks and keep a close eye on the WeatherRadar for incoming wet weather.