Doug Stanglin, Charles Ventura, and Chris Woodyard

USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES — A Pacific storm system over southern California — one of the most powerful to hit the area in years — that has generated high water, fallen trees, mudslides and sinkholes and is blamed for at least five deaths began to ease Saturday.

But more more wet weather was expected early in the week.

The National Weather Service said much of the state remained under flood watches and flood warnings from what it called a "very active, anomalously wet pattern."

Unlike some of the past deluges that have lashed the drought-parched Golden State, the latest was accompanied by winds that whipped upward of 70 miles per hour in some areas.

After the brief reprieve late Saturday, another round of storms is likely to hit the Golden State on Monday, forecasters say.

"Northern California is likely to be slammed again as it appears the heaviest rain from the storms will target the region at the start of next week," says AccuWeather senior meteorlogist Brett Anderson. More flooding, mudslides and avalanches are expected, as well as another round of flooding in the north.

The state is already reeling from what the NWS said could end up being the strongest storm to hit Southern California since January 1995.

Amtrak canceled its rail trips for a long stretch of the state’s southern and central coast, and more than 300 arriving and departing flights were delayed or canceled at Los Angeles International Airport.

In the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, the winds and rain were blamed for downing power lines along a busy stretch of Sepulveda Boulevard that fell on a car underneath. The driver was electrocuted, Los Angeles police said.

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Later, only a few miles away in Studio City, a sinkhole swallowed two cars. TV viewers watched as one of the two vehicles teetered on the edge of the chasm before plunging in. Firefighters rescued one person from the first car, and the driver got out of the second before it fell. No one was injured.

Interstate 5, the major north-south artery through California, was flooded near Los Angeles with water as deep as about five feet. Rush-hour traffic came to a crawl as California Highway Patrol officers guided motorists to off-ramps But drivers of big-rig trucks, taking advantage of their high clearance, waded through water that almost rose to their hoods at times.

As the worst of the storm struck in the early afternoon Friday, work crews — from fire departments, Caltrans and public works departments — were deployed throughout the region to respond to traffic accidents, downed trees and power lines and flooding as a result of the heavy rain.

In Victorville, a desert community east of Los Angeles, several vehicles were swept away by rushing water. One motorist was rescued from atop their vehicle. But San Bernardino County firefighters say one motorist died when the driver's car was submerged.

In Thousand Oaks, Calif., Ventura County authorities on Saturday recovered the body of a hiker who was swept away Friday afternoon by high water as swift currents quickly filled rivers and creeks that have been dry for years.

Billed as one of the most powerful storms to hit the Southland in years, residents were evacuated in some areas because of concerns about mudslides and heavy wind currents. In total, the storm had been predicted to dump four to six inches of rain over the weekend in a region that had seen water restrictions after years of drought, the Ventura County Star reports.

Two other deaths were report in separate accidents on Interstate 15. One person was reported dead after a car hydroplaned across the highway striking numerous vehicles, according to the California HIghway Patrol. A two-car wreck north of Interstate 805 left another individual dead, according to the NBC San Diego..

The rain could cause flooding and the Riverside County Fire Department cautioned all to avoid areas with high water and adhere to road closure signs. “Do not attempt to cross flooded roads or waterways on foot or in vehicles,” Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Chief John Hawkins said.

On Interstate 15, the freeway that connects Las Vegas to Southern California, a fire engine went off the side when the water undercut the roadway beneath it. The firefighters were able to escape unhurt.

Some of the hardest hit spots in Friday storms were the mountains and hills around Ojai and the Ventura River basin, swelling rivers and creeks that have had a string of dry years.

By evening, Ventura County and northern Los Angeles County had seen 24-hour rain totals of up to 7 ½ inches, with the San Marcos mountain pass in Santa Barbara County receiving nearly 8 ½ inches.

The city of Duarte, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains east of Los Angeles, ordered evacuation of 180 homes below a burn scar.

In Westlake Village, the water in the Las Virgenes reservoir could reach its spillway for the first time in more than 40 years. The reservoir has never spilled since it was first filled in 1974, but the system was designed to work this way and the dam is not at risk, officials said. The water is mostly imported from Northern California. But rain over the weekend could push the water level past capacity.

While southern and central California took the brunt of the storm, emergency crews kept a close eye on the Oroville Dam in northern California, which earlier this week appeared weakened by damage to its spillways. The fear had been that the dam could fail, inundating the town of Oroville.

A massive effort, however, had shored up the spillways with trucks and helicopters hauling in boulders. In addition, more water was drained from behind the dam, raising the hopes that the structure could handle additional rainfall without being topped.

Contributing: Christian Martinez of the Ventura County Star; The Associated Press