Mudslides, flash floods wreak havoc in Southern California

Nearly 40 miles of Interstate 5 in Southern California had to be shut down Thursday after torrential rains caused mudslides and flash floods across northern Los Angeles County.

I-5 is the state's main north-south artery, and officials did not say when they expected it to open again; there are dozens of stranded vehicles that have to be moved off the freeway, the Los Angeles Times reports, and thick mud and debris cover the road. In some areas of the county, rain was falling at 4 to 5 inches an hour, with winds gusting up to 60 mph. The intense storms are expected to continue through Saturday.

Meteorologist Joe Sirard with the National Weather Service said Southern California is experiencing unusually high humidity, which combined with a low-pressure system and moisture in the atmosphere from high ocean temperatures, caused a warm, humid air mass to linger over the region. "These storms were moving very slowly and dumping tremendous amounts of rain," he told the Times. "Very unusual factors have played a role in the flooding today — lots of humidity and just the right amount of instability in the atmosphere."

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