Chance of showers on Saturday, then dry, cloudy and cold on Christmas

The rain kept falling Friday evening in Los Angeles, heavy at times, with gusty winds and a chance of thunderstorms developing overnight.

By 9 p.m., up to half an inch of rain had fallen in downtown L.A., three-quarters of an inch had fallen in the valleys and up to an inch had fallen in the mountains, said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist for the National Weather Service.

Many parts of the county were under a flash-flood warning, including Topanga and Malibu along the coast, and hundreds of homes were without power.

The flooding danger was especially great in burn-scarred areas that could see mudslides and debris flows from the pounding rain.

Winter storm warnings were posted in mountain ranges around the state, from Los Angeles and San Diego counties to the Central Coast to the Sierra Nevada.

People intending to travel through the mountains were urged to be prepared for potentially heavy snow and dangerous conditions.

The rain is likely to continue along the coast and in the valleys Saturday morning and into the afternoon, Seto said. Rain could linger into Saturday night in the mountains.

Sunday, Christmas Day, is likely to be drier but cloudy and cold, Seto said. Expect temperatures to be in the low 40s when kids spring from bed to open their presents, climbing into the low 60s by the afternoon.

The rest of the holiday week is looking more familiar to Southern Californians, with the sun returning and no chance of showers from Sunday to Friday, Seto said.

Of course, the rain did bring the usual assortment of weather-related accidents across the freeway system.

One incident shortly after 9 p.m. blocked the left lane of the westbound 105 Freeway near LAX, adding to the misery of holiday travelers facing long lines and flight delays caused by the winter storm.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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UPDATES:

10:40 p.m.: This article was updated with information about flash-flood warnings and power outages.

This article was originally published at 9:50 p.m.