On Friday afternoon, flash floods that posed a threat to human life struck a number of areas in Southern California. As a result, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a number of urgent warnings across the region.
At the same time that torrential rain has been pounding certain regions of the United States throughout the first half of July, a flood warning has been issued.
Central Texas was hit by a deluge of rain during the course of the Independence Day weekend, which resulted in floods that claimed the lives of more than one hundred people. In addition, portions of New Mexico, the Northeast, and the Mid-Atlantic were flooded by dangerous floods.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), flooding is the second-deadliest weather hazard in the United States, after only excessive heat.
Warnings of flash flooding issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) for San Bernardino County will remain in effect until Friday afternoon. Meteorologists will issue multiple advisories that overlap with one another as storms pass across the region.
The radar indicated that there was continued heavy rainfall with rates reaching up to 1.25 inches per hour in certain regions. At the time that the warnings were issued, there had already been between 0.5 and 2 inches of rain that had fallen so far.
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Rainfall was expected to continue, which prompted authorities to issue warnings about the possibility of flash floods that would affect creeks, urban areas, highways, and underpasses.
The advisories identified a number of areas as being at risk for flash floods.
These communities include Big Bear City, Lucerne Valley, Hesperia, and Lake Arrowhead, among others. Highways 18 and 38, which are considered to be important transit routes, were at risk of experiencing flash flooding.
Emergency officials strongly advised motorists to steer clear of highways that were flooded.
This concern extended to low-lying bridges as well as regions that were close to burn scars caused by recent wildfires, which considerably increased the likelihood of debris flows that were moving quickly.
