Heavy rains lead to 5 Freeway closure in the San Fernando Valley

A Christmas storm that drenched Los Angeles on Wednesday led to the partial closure of the 5 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley area, according to CalTrans.

The southbound portion of the 5 freeway between Sheldon Street/Laurel Canyon Boulevard to Lankershim Blvd is closed until further notice. The northbound side of the freeway between Tuxford Street to Lankershim Boulevard also remains closed.

The strong Christmas Eve storm has been marked by dangerously strong wind gusts and rain that has drenched Southern California on Wednesday, leading to street flooding, evacuation warnings and the looming possibilities of mudslides and dangerous debris flows in areas scarred by recent wildfires.

Traffic at the start of a busy holiday travel period was treacherous at best across the region, with more wet weather in the forecast.

The storm landed first over Los Angeles County early Wednesday and was expected to push more strongly into Orange County and the Inland Empire as the day progresses, according to meteorologists with the National Weather Service.

LA County is under a flood advisory until Wednesday, Dec. 24 at 4 p.m., a flash flood warning until Wednesday, Dec. 24 at 6 p.m., a wind advisory until Thursday, Dec. 25 at 3 p.m., and a flood watch until Friday, Dec. 26 at 4 p.m.

Powerful wind gusts reached 40 to 70 mph in the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains, according to the NWS, with one wind gust in the western San Gabriel mountains reaching 98 miles per hour. LA’s coastal and valley areas experienced 20 to 40 mph wind gusts.

This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.