Rain is falling in Burbank this morning as a serious storm moves through the Southland today. Already the burn areas in the nearby foothills have received 1-2 inches of rain and that has caused mud and debris to start to flow. Around 243 homes in the risky areas of La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta were ordered evacuated and some roads closed by late yesterday as the storm approached. Despite the danger, some of those residents refused to leave and decided to stay hunkered down in their homes.

The first band of rain from the storm has pretty much rolled through, but another is headed our way with the potential to create some major problems. More on the evacuations and the road closures here.

We’ve had so much rain, the flowers and plants in my yard are drooping from it all.  This evening, I discovered clusters of white pebbles in the puddles in the flower beds. The pebbles — small ice chips – hail. I got caught in a hail/rainstorm around 6 p.m. while out running some quick errands in Burbank. One cloudburst dropped so much rain, I had trouble seeing through the windshield even though the wipers were whipping back and forth like crazy.

Many areas of the Southland, were battered by rain, hail, and wind today. Also, there are reports of tornadoes touching down in Riverside and Ventura Counties, ripping out trees, tossing cars and trucks around. In the nearby fire-ravaged foothills, crews are working to contain mud and debris flows in neighborhoods where yesterday hundreds of residents were ordered to evacuate.  

Red Cross Evacuation Centers are open at La Canada Flintridge High School: 4463 Oak Grove Drive, La Canada, Sunland Park Recreation Center: 8651 Foothill Blvd., Sunland, and Glendale Civic Auditorium: 1401 N. Verdugo Rd., Glendale. There is another shelter at Sierra Madre Community Recreation Center: 611 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre  as well. Additional information on the evacuation centers, the evacuations, and some of the road closures are on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works website http://dpw.lacounty.gov/CARE/

And tonight reportedly the search was called off for a second teenager apparently swept away in the Santa Ana river in Orange County. Rescuers pulled one boy from the treacherous waters, but were unable to find his friend. More storm reports on the 818 Now website.

Meanwhile, weather experts say we are nearing the end of this series of storms, but they’re still predicting bands on thunderstorms will spiral through the Southland overnight and through tomorrow bringing more bursts of heavy rains, lightning, gusty winds up to 60 miles an hour, and even pea-size hail. Oh, they say sunshine is on the way for the weekend. Hallelujah!

Photo: Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times – A man watches mud, water, and debris wash down a street in front of his Sierra Madre home yesterday.

Two powerful storms pounded the Southland over the past couple of days, and weather watchers are predicting a third truly monstrous system will roll through before we get a chance to dry out. When I got out this morning, it was chilly and the skies overcast. Soon the showers arrived with rumbling thunder, flashes of lightning, and heavy downpours. As I drove along a street in Glendale just before noon, I noticed people with umbrellas huddled in doorways. The rain was falling so hard, flimsy umbrellas provided very little protection.

All afternoon the rain came down in Burbank. At times, the chilly temperatures and rain produced hail. It was a bad weather day in Media City, but other areas suffered even more from this second storm. Along the coast, tornadoes reportedly whipped off the Pacific Ocean onto land in Huntington Beach and Sunset Beach, blowing out windows, damaging homes and vehicles. In fact, a twister flipped over an SUV, as you can probably imagine, it shocked and scared the heck out of a lot of folks.

Flooding on surface streets and major highways added to the weather grief for motorists struggling to deal with the high number of traffic accidents. In San Pedro, around 30-to-40 homes and some vehicles were flooded with at least three to four feet of water and a number of people had to be rescued. Closer to Burbank, areas scorched by wildfires last year are reportedly saturated. That prompted a news conference, just before 6 p.m. this evening, by Los Angeles County officials announcing mandatory evacuations a full 15 hours ahead of time. 

Residents in nearly 500 homes are being ordered to be packed up and ready to leave by 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. Those affected live in the foothills of La Crescenta, La Cañada Flintridge, Acton, and unincorporated areas of Glendale. The specific addresses for the evacuations are on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works website http://dpw.lacounty.gov/CARE/

This third storm is expected to drench the already soggy Southland with 2-to-4 inches of rain along coastal areas and 4-to-8 inches in the mountains. It’s due to arrive tomorrow afternoon and linger at least through much of Thursday and perhaps into Friday. Depending on the length of the storm, evacuated residents may not be able to return home until next Monday, January 25. 

The storms have claimed two lives: a woman in El Cajon and a Frazier Park man, both killed by falling trees, according to the Los Angeles Times.

 Be careful. Stay safe.