In Santa Barbara, people living in at-risk areas were told to leave by 3 p.m. Wednesday. The National Weather Service in Los Angeles said on X around 5 p.m. local time that the storm was "rapidly intensifying" over Los Angeles County.

As of midafternoon, rain had picked up in some areas, and Caltrans crews were working at many locations to clear debris from roads and reduce flooding.

Debris flows brought on by the strongest atmospheric river of the season swept a car off a southern California highway and into the ocean and left roads submerged in sludge