For most Southern Californians, the final days of 2025 were spent cozily inside. Rainstorms persisted throughout the two-week break from school, putting a damper on many people’s plans.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the weather for Christmas week was predicted to be rainy for five days, with the holidays being the heaviest.
It rained the most in Southern California on Christmas Eve, with Rancho Cucamonga receiving 3.47 inches of rain. The last account for rainy holidays was in 2020 for California.
Residents were able to spend their time inside – sometimes by themselves. Senior Jason Portz said that the rain affected his break in both positive and negative ways. He got to spend time bingeing his favorite TV shows indoors, but didn’t get to go out with his friends too much.
“I feel as if the rain did affect how I spent my break,” Portz said. “Normally, I am a very social person who loves to spend any free time I have going out with my friends, but I found that the rain gave me very limited opportunities to. In a more positive light, I did feel like being by myself indoors gave me an opportunity to do more things I enjo,y such as watch movies all day and reconnect with myself.”
Another student, senior Chloe Liu, said the rain ruined her plans of going out, but ultimately had no real effect because she stayed inside and played board games with her family.
The heavy rain on Dec. 24 caused flooding in certain areas on the main holiday. The worst of it was seen in Wrightwood, a mountain town in Southern California. In September of 2024, the Bridge Fire caused massive damage to the topsoil of the surrounding areas. A majority of the foliage and root systems were burned, which loosened up the soil.
On Christmas Day, Wrightwood was met with major floods because of the loosened soil. The Inland Empire Community News described the flood as a “new river system” that “dragged itself through houses and roads, soaking and burying everything in its path.” The flood carried with it debris, both manmade and natural.
Approximately 50 houses were left severely damaged, and 20 were left with moderate damage. Roads were left damaged as well. The residents of the tight-knit community kept their spirits high despite this tragedy. They were seen helping clean up the mess and offering help to their neighbors.
As of Jan. 5, 2026, NBCLA reported Wrightwood residents continue to fix and clean up the destruction of the natural disaster. There is still limited access to the town as the process proceeds. Families are taking it day-by-day.
The second week was visited with scattered showers with, again, most of the rain coming down on New Year’s Eve and Day. The use of fireworks was limited due to the rain and many other festivities as well. However, residents of Southern California were still able to celebrate using the annual ball drop from New York City’s Times Square.
The famous Rose Parade got rained on, starting the New Year off with soggy conditions. In-person spectators had to sit and watch in the rainy conditions.
Senior Owen Pohlen attended the Rose Parade in person. He said it was so crowded that it felt like they were “canned tuna.”
“It was horrible,” Pohlen said. “Sitting in the rain was awful, and there were such huge gaps because all the floats kept breaking down in the rain. We paid a ticket to sit in the stands too, and it was so crowded, and the seats were wet and just felt like we were like canned tuna.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Rose Parade hasn’t been rained on in 20 years and was only the 11th showcase featuring these conditions since the tradition began about 150 years ago. Despite all this, the festivities continued and finished with about one to two inches of rain.
The gloomy forecast did not dampen people’s spirits for holiday celebrations. However, some would have preferred if it were a break spent out in the sun. Liu said she prefers sunny weather for the break to rainy.
“I prefer a sunny Christmas break,” Liu said. “It just makes going out and hanging with family more accessible. Rain just keeps everyone in since going out is hazardous and just annoying.”
