Forecasters measured 4.52 inches of rain at the Santa Barbara Airport on Christmas, beating the previous record of 2.17 inches set in 1955.

A powerful Christmas week storm is dumping rain across Southern California, putting at-risk communities on alert and prompting evacuation warnings.

Towns across California have been affected by storms during Christmas week, filling homes halfway with mud, cracking highways and burying cars. The National Weather Service warned of heavy rain throughout the week due to a series of atmospheric rivers.

Record breaking rain hit Southern California, leaving emergency crews to rush to respond to flash floods and mudflows across the region.

A record-setting Christmas storm battering Southern California brought rushing floods that have already killed at least three people.

Scientists attribute these extreme weather swings to climate change, warning of intensifying "hydroclimate whiplash" patterns globally.

A final round of heavy rain is drenching California Friday and threatening to bring more flooding and debris flows after a days-long deadly siege of storms.