A rare Jan. 1 rainstorm drenched Southern California on Thursday, triggering slides and major road closures across the Los Angeles area, as well as swift water rescues on San Diego roadways.
Flooding of the 5 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley prompted Caltrans to shut down all lanes between Tuxford Street and Lankershim Boulevard for several hours, while a mudslide closed Big Tujunga Canyon Road in Angeles National Forest between the Angeles Forest Highway and Vogel Flat Road — just the latest in a long list of county road closures due to flooding and slides since Dec. 24.
In San Diego, emergency crews worked to rescue motorists who found themselves trapped on flooded roadways. “Our swiftwater rescue teams are actively working to rescue individuals stuck in their cars along Fashion Valley Rd & Riverwalk Dr.,” read a statement from the San Diego Fire Department around 10 a.m. “Stay safe, SD. Please avoid the area & never walk or drive through floodwaters.”
A San Diego Police Department spokesman said a father and his young daughter were caught in their blue Jeep by deep, fast-moving water and rescued without incident by San Diego Fire-Rescue emergency crews.
The storm, which the National Weather Service described as “very juicy,” began around 3:45 a.m. Thursday. By 10 a.m. it had dumped 1.21 inches of rain on eastern Pasadena and downtown Los Angeles had received 1.33 inches, according to the weather service.
Typically, New Year’s Day is rain-free in the Los Angeles area.
According to the National Weather Service, rain has fallen on just 10% of all New Year’s Days between 1878 and 2025. The record for the holiday was in 1934, when it rained 3.12 inches in Pasadena. That was also the year Los Angeles received more than one inch of rain on the first day of the year.
The Los Angeles area has already seen heavier-than-normal rainfall this rainy season, which began Oct. 1.
As of Wednesday, downtown L.A. had already received 11.64 inches of rain, which is 7.8 inches above normal, according to meteorologist Mike Wofford of the weather service.
The rainfall appeared to dampen enthusiasm for the 2026 Rose Parade somewhat, as the crowds that begin filling Pasadena sidewalks hours before Thursday’s procession were smaller than in years prior.
Those who did attend used umbrellas, ponchos and awnings to protect themselves from the downpour.
Retired USPS letter carrier Michael Bartley, 66, was keeping warm with a patio heater as he sat under an awning at 7 a.m., saving spaces for his family at their traditional viewing place at Madison Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. Bartley has attended about a dozen parades, and was present the last time it rained on the Rose Parade in 2006.
Bartley drove in from his home in Buckeye, Ariz., on Wednesday and slept in his car to secure front-row seating for his family, and wasn’t too fussed about the downpour.
“It’s amazing what a little rain will do … there’s nobody over there,” he said, gesturing to a row of empty folding chairs.
By 10 a.m, the storm appeared to be mostly over, according to Wofford. However, the sunshine will not last. “We’ll be seeing light rain tomorrow afternoon and evening and the beginning of another storm coming in over the weekend,” he said.
