Laguna Beach Residents Prepare For Heavy Rain, Wind & Flooding Tuesday

LAGUNA BEACH, CA —A major winter storm is heading to the Southland Monday night, bringing rainfall and snow in elevated areas. Laguna Beach is under both a wind advisory and a flash flood watch much of Tuesday, the National Weather Service says.

The strong storm system was expected to soak much of Southern California with rain and coat mountaintops with snow Monday and Tuesday. Coastal areas and the valleys could get up to 3 inches of rain during the storm, while mountains and foothills could see up to 5 inches.

On Tuesday, Laguna Beach will be under a wind advisory from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and a flash flood watch is in effect from 6 a.m. through 9 p.m.

Residents of Laguna Beach can expect between 1 to 1.5 inches of rain to fall, along with 25 miles per hour sustained winds. Gusts of up to 45 miles per hour are expected, the city says.

Sandbags are necessary for many homes in uncertain flooding zones.

During times of anticipated heavy rain, we provide filled sandbags on a first-come-first-served basis to residents of Laguna Beach (be prepared to show ID), limit 10 per property. When available, sandbags can be picked up at either of the two following locations:

ACT V Parking Lot (Lot 16) - 1900 Laguna Canyon Road
Aliso Beach Inland Parking Lot - 31118 Coast Highway

Empty bags are available at:

• Station 1 - 501 Forest Ave
• Station 2 - 285 Agate Street
• Station 3 - 2900 Alta Laguna Blvd
• Station 4 - 31646 2nd Ave

"Laguna Beach residents can expect rain before 10 a.m., then showers and possibly a thunderstorm between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., then a chance of rain and thunderstorms after 4 p.m.

Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall, the NWS reported.

Due to the cold weather, the Orange County Cold Weather Shelter will be activated for 24 hours, according to Orange County Health Care officials.

There is no time like the present to review your emergency plans and prepare your home for inclement weather.

• Make sure you are connected to AlertOC and Nixle.
• Clean your gutters and trim back your trees.
• Plan for power outages, and have a 72-hour emergency kit.
• Have an evacuation plan with your family, and be sure phone numbers are written down.
• Make a family emergency plan, in case you are not together.
• Plan for flooding with the use of sandbags and/or flood gates.

"If your business has a flood gate, be sure you know where it is and how to use it," the city advises.

Here is a detailed forecast from the National Weather Service for Laguna Beach.