Storms Continue Their Attack on Southern California, Southwest

The intensity of the storm now hitting the Southwest was stronger than some hurricanes with a barometric pressure under 29.00 inches of mercury Wednesday.

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(LOS ANGELES) - AccuWeather.com reports the last and strongest in the train of Pacific storms will unleash a new round of flooding rain, mudslides, feet of mountain snow, damaging winds and severe thunderstorms on California and the Southwest into Friday.

It is an all out weather war being waged by the atmosphere on the Southwest. The storm rolling through now is the caboose in the storm siege, but may bring the greatest risks to lives and property thus far this week.

The risk of flooding rain and severe thunderstorm threat will last into this evening in California. However, it will take until Friday evening before the storm winds down over Arizona.

Downpours can quickly flood urban areas such as city streets and underpasses. The persistent rain will continue to make rivers, streams and normally dry washes raging torrents.

If you drive through flooded areas, not only do you run the risk of damaging your vehicle, but you could be swept away by the waters.

The threat of mudslides is not limited to recent burn areas.

The soil is saturated over the region now, and even a moderate amount of rain can lead to disastrous mudslides.

Damaging winds, some accompanied by thunderstorms with hail, will lead to more downed trees, power outages, property damage and complications for high-profile vehicles from southern California to southern Arizona.

The nature of the system rolling ashore now can even spawn tornadoes and waterspouts.

Waves as high as 25 feet have been chewing away at beaches and pounding shoreline property.

Conditions will improve this weekend from west to east. Storms forecast for next week will be less intense, but can still cause travel delays and flooding problems.

The intensity of the storm now hitting the Southwest was stronger than some hurricanes with a barometric pressure under 29.00 inches of mercury Wednesday.

The storms from Sunday to Wednesday dumped nearly 74 inches of snow on a mountain in the southern Sierras.

Palm Springs, Calif., received about 50 percent of its average annual rainfall this week alone as of 8:00 a.m. PST, Thursday.

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Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Expert Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski