Southern California faces heavy rain and mudslide risks this weekend following record New Year’s Day storms. Get the latest on the forecast and emergency prep.

Heavy rain and flash flooding already led to water rescues and at least one death in Northern California, local officials said. Shasta County Sheriff Michael L. Johnson on Monday declared a state of emergency to prepare for more rain and allow the state to help with hazard mitigation and search and rescue operations.

A final round of heavy rain is drenching California Friday and threatening to bring more flooding and debris flows after a days-long deadly siege of storms.

More than 41 million Americans across California, Nevada and Arizona are under flood watches on Wednesday amid a rare, high risk for excessive rainfall and flooding.

A storm that arrived on New Year’s Eve delivered hours of rainfall overnight and into early Thursday morning in Southern California. Rainfall reached it peak in the early hours of 2026, drenching the crowd gathered in Pasadena for the 137th Rose Parade.

A high-wind watch was issued for much of Southern California, including near the Santa Ana Mountains, San Bernardino and Riverside County mountains and valleys, and the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning.

KCRA 3 Weather meteorologist Dirk Verdoorn looks at the changes coming to Northern California which include rain and warmer temperatures.