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Heavy Rain, Snow In California Not Enough To End Drought

Heavy rain is pounding Southern California this weekend, but it's not enough to end the state's longstanding dry spell.
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Heavy rain is pounding Southern California this weekend, but it's not enough to end the state's longstanding dry spell. 

NBC reports it's Southern California's worst rain storm in more than three years — turning many streets into rivers Friday. Some spots reportedly got up to five inches of rain, with more in the forecast for Saturday. 

KTTV notes the rain has made a mess on local highways, with the California Highway Patrol reporting more than 150 accidents before noon Friday. Many of those wrecks were caused by drivers going too fast.

KABC points out crews in Glendora spent Friday night cleaning up tons of mud that came down from nearby hills that were scorched in a large fire back in January. Hundreds were evacuated Thursday before the mess arrived.

Homes in nearby Azusa were also evacuated due to potential mudslides.

But, KNBC reports some are staying in their homes anyway. "It's bulls***, whatever. I don't think it's going to come all the way through the windows, you know. ... I think it'll just be a lot of debris and water."

Parts of the L.A. area have been slammed with rain, which is a step in the right direction when it comes to the state's long and stubborn drought. As of Thursday, almost 95 percent of the state is in a drought. (Via U.S. Drought Monitor)

Unfortunately, a climatologist told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune all this rain will do little to break the historic drought — calling it a "rogue storm."

That "rogue storm" is expected to move out of Southern California late Saturday and head east.

The Weather Channel reports by Sunday and Monday, parts of the Midwest and Northeast could get hit with five to eight inches of snow.

But before the system moves on, some parts of California could see up to 10 inches of rain by the end of the weekend.