LOS ANGELES — The most powerful band of a large atmospheric river storm slammed into Southern California Saturday, dumping much-needed rain across the region but also bringing mudslide dangers to communities still reeling from last January’s firestorms.

The storm flooded some streets and highways, sent mud and rocks sliding onto some canyon roads and made for treacherous driving conditions.

The weather probably contributed to at least two deaths in Northern California and on the Central Coast. But as of Saturday evening, there were no immediate reports of major damage to property in Southern California, including in the burn-scarred neighborhoods of Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Malibu.

As of Saturday afternoon, the storm had dumped 2 to 3 inches of rain across the greater Los Angeles area, and 3 to 6 inches in the foothills and mountains of the Transverse Ranges. A few spots got as much as 8 inches of rain, said Ariel Cohen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Oxnard.

“This was indeed a significant storm system. And many folks experienced significant impacts, with numerous reports of flooded roadways/freeways, rockslides and mudslides,” Cohen said. “What’s key is the tremendous preparedness efforts that have been ongoing many days in advance of the storm ... have helped mitigate impacts — preventing some reasonable worst-case impacts from coming to fruition.”

Scattered showers were expected through Sunday. There remained a slight chance of thunderstorms late Saturday, and an accompanying risk of gusty winds, hail and heavy rain that could produce flash flooding anywhere, given the saturation of the soil, the National Weather Service said.

Two more storms are potentially on the horizon — one Monday through Tuesday, and another Thursday through Friday. The first storm is expected to bring light to moderate rain, a half-inch to an inch in most areas, but there is a chance of thunderstorms. The potential intensity of the late-week storm is unclear at this point.

This weekend’s storm marked the exclamation point on a week of wet weather that helped dampen fire danger and boost water supplies across the state, but also brought dangers.

Along the Big Sur coast, a 5-year-old girl was swept into the Pacific Ocean by waves estimated to be 15 to 20 feet high just before 1 p.m. Friday as she and her family were at the beach along Garrapata State Park, according to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.

Her father tried to rescue her, but both were swept into the ocean as they held hands. The child’s mother also reached out to both and was pulled into the water as well.

She was able to get back to shore on her own and was treated at a hospital for mild hypothermia. But the man was later declared dead after he was pulled out of the water by an off-duty California State Parks peace officer. The 5-year-old girl remains missing, and search efforts continued Saturday.

The National Weather Service had warned people to stay off the beaches Friday because of the storm, cautioning that waves of up to 18 feet were possible all along the Central California coast, with swells as high as 23 feet possible in some locations.

About 16 miles north of Sacramento, a 71-year-old man died Friday afternoon after his car was swept away by rushing water as he tried to drive over a flooded bridge in Sutter County.

No deaths were reported in Southern California, but it was a day of tense moments.

At least 58 trees were blown down across Los Angeles, officials told the National Weather Service. In Sawtelle, a 30-foot ficus tree fell on a Santa Monica Big Blue Bus and two other cars Friday night, but no one was injured, according to NBC 4.

Floodwaters covered a lane of traffic on Highway 60 in East L.A., causing several vehicles to spin out.

Up to 3 feet of water inundated one of the Long Beach Boulevard offramps on the 710 Freeway, officials said. In Santa Clarita, rock and debris covered all lanes at Soledad Canyon and Oak Spring Canyon roads. Nearby, large boulders tumbled onto Highway 14, blocking lanes of traffic.

On the Grapevine section of the 5 Freeway, severe flooding covered offramps and the main freeway in a few locations. All lanes of Mulholland Highway were covered in rocks and mud at Stunt Road, about 4 miles south of Calabasas. Meanwhile, flooding and mud blocked lanes on several stretches of the 101 Freeway in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Rocks were piling along the margins of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, where runoff hindered drivers and forced lane closures.

Crews installed cable nets and erosion-control devices and spent Saturday responding to emergencies, clearing debris with heavy equipment, draining flooded roads to reduce mudflows and removing any unstable rocks identified on steep slopes. But side roads in residential areas proved harder to control — especially in fire-affected areas more prone to erosion.

Paseo Portola Street and many others like it were littered with loose mud, debris and chunks of rock scattered down from the Santa Monica Mountains.

“I’m sure it’s created problems for a lot of people,” said Malibu resident Adam Gorski. “It was a problem in the beginning, and of course it gets worse around here when it rains.”

In L.A. County, the areas most at risk for rapid flows of mud and debris were the Eaton burn scar in Altadena, the Palisades burn scar in Pacific Palisades, and the Bridge burn scar north of Claremont. Officials were also closely watching the Line burn scar north of Highland and the Airport burn scar between Rancho Santa Margarita and Lake Elsinore.

Remaining evacuation orders and warnings were expected to expire by 8 a.m. Sunday.

Ahead of the storm, forecasters said the most likely scenario for Southern California was moderate roadway flooding and generally minor and shallow debris flows, with a peak rain rate of around a half an inch per hour. A debris flow occurs when rain on hillsides pulls down mud and other debris with it.

As of Saturday afternoon, it seemed that L.A. County had experienced a more moderate storm scenario. There were peak rainfall rates of around 0.5 to 0.75 of an inch per hour, said meteorologist Joe Sirard of the weather service’s Oxnard office.

More intense rain could have triggered debris flows powerful enough to wipe out roads and damage homes and businesses.

The Los Angeles Fire Department pre-deployed resources across the city to respond to storm-related hazards, including a 22-member strike team with five fire engines patrolling the Pacific Palisades area, according to Fire Chief Jaime Moore.

A bright spot of the storm is the effect on fire risk. This and other recent rainfall have done much to moisten the landscape and make it harder for blazes to start.

It’s a marked improvement from 2024, when a record dry streak over the fall and winter left vegetation withered and primed to burn. Those conditions, combined with exceptionally erratic Santa Ana winds, fueled the rapid spread of the Eaton and Palisades fires, which rank among the deadliest and most destructive in California history.

Even steady rain didn’t stop volunteers from gathering Saturday morning to begin restoring a beloved community mural first painted by Palisades Charter High School students in the early 1980s.

The mural survived the Palisades fire with minor singe marks. But that, combined with decades of sun, salt and air pollution, made the restoration urgent, conservationists said.

“Through all of the devastation, there is something really beautiful about the community coming together to protect this mural, no matter the weather,” said Davida Persaud, chief operating officer of MuralColors, a local art conservator.

Volunteers draped in rain ponchos and high-visibility vests used brushes to remove an old layer of protective coating from the mural wall.

One volunteer, Sara Trepanier, lost her home in the blaze and is still rebuilding. She said efforts like this are commonplace in the neighborhood.

“We all take care of each other here,” she said.

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(Times reporting fellow Marie Sanford contributed to this report.)

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