Steve Futterman

The storms may be less intense, but with the ground and hillsides already waterlogged,

It didn't take much to cause new flooding, along with more mudslides and rockslides.

Some intersections again filled with water and became hard to drive through.

In a few areas, there are still power outages.

The next few days should bring some relief.

Yeah, we're definitely improving.

Dave Gomberg is with the National Weather Service.

We'll start to see the shower activity decrease.

This has been one of the wettest Christmas weeks ever.

Some areas have received more than 15 inches of rain.

There have been several deaths.

One of the hardest hit areas has been the small mountain town of Wrightwood, where many homes suffered extensive damage.

For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Los Angeles.

There was plenty of foot traffic at shopping centers across the nation.

At this mall in suburban Los Angeles, we saw many people arriving with gifts they are returning.

Those people preferred not to talk to avoid embarrassment.

Then there were the bargain hunters.

Beverly Barisi came with her two children.

Believe it or not, she is shopping for next Christmas.

The returns platform SEAL estimates up to 25% of pre-Christmas purchases are expected to be returned.