Rain, rain sticks around, thanks to Tropical Storm Blanca

For a minute there, it seemed like the rain and gray skies were moving out of Southern California. But Los Angeles woke up Thursday morning to rain, mist and cooler temperatures.

The mugginess at least packed its bags. But a low-pressure system, brought on by remnants of Tropical Storm Blanca, has lingered, according to the National Weather Service. Deserts and mountains could get rain Friday, and overcast skies will persist through the weekend.

Despite the drizzle, traffic in Southern California was no worse than usual, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The storm that rolled into Southern California on Wednesday flooded parts of New Cuyama, a town in Santa Barbara County.

Photos from the area showed raging streams along roads, prompting the California Highway Patrol to close Highway 166 from New Cuyama to the Kern County line.

By Saturday, a high-pressure system should bring warmer temperatures and the drying will begin, the weather service said.

Meanwhile, the areas of extreme drought in California expanded this week, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report.

Unseasonably warm and dry weather in parts of Northern California aggravated drought conditions in Humboldt and Mendocino counties, according to Dave Miskus, a meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center. In those counties, coastal streams that rely on spring rain flow averaged to near and record lows, he said.

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