A Coastal Flood Advisory remains in effect for parts of the Los Angeles and Ventura County coast through Tuesday afternoon. The National Weather Service says high tides, increasing swells and stronger winds are expected, with Sunday likely to bring the greatest coastal impacts; dangerous surf and rip currents are also hazards, but are distinct from coastal flooding, according to the advisory.
What the forecast says for downtown
The National Weather Service point forecast for downtown Los Angeles calls for patchy fog and a high near 88 Friday, followed by a mostly cloudy Saturday with a high near 79. Sunday’s forecast high is near 74, with a low around 58 Sunday night. The forecast includes a threat of showers across all areas on both Monday and Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service forecast.
Different hazards, different histories
The coastal advisory does not establish that downtown Los Angeles will flood, and its surf and rip-current warnings describe hazards separate from coastal inundation. For general beach-safety guidance—not a Los Angeles-specific forecast—the National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City office advises people caught in a rip current not to fight it and, when able, to swim out of the current along the shoreline.
Longer-term data offer context, not a prediction for this advisory: a NOAA technical report described high-tide flooding frequency as nearly constant across the West Coast overall, while listing Los Angeles among a few locations with a reported 25% to 50% increase.
Past rain-related flooding is another distinct comparison. The California-Nevada River Forecast Center reported that during the Jan. 9–10, 2023, storm, multiple Southern California forecast points exceeded flood stage, including the Ventura River at Foster Park. During a separate event, Hurricane Hilary in August 2023, Downtown Los Angeles set daily and monthly rainfall records on Aug. 20, recording 2.48 inches that day and 2.99 inches for the month, the National Hurricane Center reported. Neither past event establishes impacts from the current forecast or advisory.
The City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering says its stormwater program manages planning, design and construction for flood-control and stormwater-pollution projects. That general description does not identify which downtown neighborhoods may be affected or establish specific impacts from the forecast.
