A tropical storm that brought high winds and heavy rain to parts of southern California is expected to move out of the region over the next few days but could bring more flooding, meteorologists say. The remnants of Tropical Storm Kay could cause thunderstorms and flooding Sunday and early into the week in Southern California, particularly in the interior mountains and deserts, according to the National Weather Service. But the region has largely avoided the flash floods and coastal inundation that had been forecast as the tropical storm made a rare approach north toward the California-Mexico border, causing gusts exceeding 100 mph in the mountains of San Diego County, bringing Miami-style humidity and churning up heavy surf.
The National Weather Service is saying that there is a chance that thunderstorms and flooding could happen in Southern California this Sunday and earlier next week. This is especially true for areas like the interior mountains and deserts.
A flash flood watch means that a flash flood could happen. The watch is for mountain and desert areas in Los Angeles, Ventura and San Diego counties, as well as the Inland Empire.
Robbie Munroe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Los Angeles, said that thunderstorms on Sunday may move more slowly than the ones on Saturday. This increases the risk of flooding if rain continues in the same areas. Munroe said that they will be looking at this issue more closely today.
There will be some showers in San Diego County on Sunday and Monday, mostly in the mountains but possibly in the valleys or deserts too.
There is a very small chance of afternoon thunderstorms for the next few days. This is because of Kay, which is moving away from the area. Kay is a tropical storm that is rare for this area. It caused gusts of wind that were more than 100 mph in some areas, and also brought Miami-style humidity and large waves.
The storm brought relief to Southern California from the high temperatures earlier in the week. The temperatures are expected to stay in the 80s at the beginning of next week, but will be lower at the beaches and some mountain areas. Some areas might get cooler with the return of low clouds.
Oswant said it will get a little warmer at the end of the week, but the temperature will stay about the same as it usually is this time of year.
The Mosquito fire in northern California has grown to 33,000 acres, prompting the evacuation of thousands of people in Placer and El Dorado counties. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection tweeted Saturday that the fire continues to threaten structures and power lines.
Chris Vestal said that officials are watching wind patterns to see if they will change.
We are hopeful that the forecast for light winds is accurate, and we are making progress, Vestal said. He noted that the steep terrain is making it difficult to build containment lines that will be effective.
Firefighters who were fighting the Fairview fire near Hemet were also happy to see the rain. The extra moisture from the rain helped to saturate the area and made the high winds less of a threat, said Rob Roseen, a spokesman for Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.
Roseen said that they received some of the winds, but the rain came much earlier than expected. She said that there is still fire work to be done, but largely the fire has been reduced.
As of Saturday morning, Tropical Storm Kay was 250 miles southwest of the San Diego coast. The storm broke rainfall records in San Diego, Escondido, Vista, Los Angeles and Burbank.
The amount of precipitation in San Diego on Friday was 0.61 inches. This amount is more than the record for that date, which was 0.09 inches in 1976. At Mount Laguna in San Diego County, more than 5 inches of rainfall were recorded over two days.
Approximately 24,000 individuals were without power as of Saturday morning in various areas throughout Los Angeles, including Pico-Union, Hollywood, Sylmar, and San Pedro. According to spokesperson Mia Rose Wong, another 30,000 individuals had their power restored after outages that spanned from minutes to hours in the previous day.
Rose Wong said that the crews are working very hard and will not stop until all power is restored.
Nearly 13,000 customers were without power on Saturday afternoon, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said. The department said that during heavy rain and wind storms, the most frequent cause of power outages is flying debris, such as tree branches and palm fronds, hitting power lines.
This is especially true after an extended period of time without rain and after dry conditions like the drought.
The rain caused the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to give a warning to residents. They said to be careful about swimming, surfing, or playing in the ocean. This is because there could be contamination in the water from storm-drain discharge. This discharge can have bacteria, chemicals, trash, and other things that could be harmful to your health.
Elvira Olson is a news reporter for the ABC News affiliate in Los Angeles. She has more than 20 years of experience in journalism and has won numerous awards for her work, including an Emmy.