One lucky Southern Californian has won over $2.3 million after numbers were drawn for the Powerball jackpot on Saturday night.

Although no winner hit all six numbers for the $1.5 billion jackpot, one ticket matched five numbers and will take home $2,323,527.

The winning numbers were 4, 5, 28, 52, 69 and a Powerball of 20. The Power Play multiplier was 3x.

The SoCal ticket that hit five numbers was sold at Wright’s Market at 2691 Ventura Blvd. in Oxnard.

The Powerball jackpot will rise to an estimated $1.6 billion for the next drawing on Monday, Dec. 22 – the game’s fourth-largest prize ever and the fifth-largest among all U.S. lottery jackpots.

If a player wins Monday’s jackpot, they will have the choice between an annuitized prize estimated at $1.60 billion or a lump sum payment estimated at $735.3 million. Both prize options are before taxes.

If the winner selects the annuity option, they will receive one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5 percent each year.

The new prize marks only the second time in Powerball history that the game has produced back-to-back jackpots exceeding $1 billion. The only other time was in 2023, when a $1.08 billion jackpot was won on July 19, followed by a $1.765 billion jackpot on Oct. 11. Both jackpots were won in California.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million and the overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24.9. 

Top 10 largest U.S. lottery jackpots across Powerball and Mega Millions:

• $2.04 Billion – Powerball – Nov. 7, 2022 – CA
• $1.787 Billion – Powerball – Sept. 6, 2025 – MO, TX
• $1.765 Billion – Powerball – Oct. 11, 2023 – CA
• $1.602 Billion – Mega Millions – Aug. 8, 2023 – FL
• $1.60 Billion est. – Powerball – Dec. 22, 2025
• $1.586 Billion – Powerball – Jan. 13, 2016 – CA, FL, TN
• $1.537 Billion – Mega Millions – Oct. 23, 2018 – SC
• $1.348 Billion – Mega Millions – Jan. 13, 2023 – ME
• $1.337 Billion – Mega Millions – July 29, 2022 – IL
• $1.326 Billion – Powerball – April 6, 2024 – OR

Lottery officials noted that so far, the 45 consecutive Powerball drawings without a jackpot winner have raised over $100 million for public schools in California.

“Every California Lottery game sold contributes to the Lottery’s mission of raising extra money for California’s public schools,” lottery officials said. “These funds support a variety of programs across the state.”

Powerball tickets are $2 per play and drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday night at 7:59 p.m.

The Pineapple Express storm bearing down on Southern California could bring heavy rain and strong winds throughout Christmas week, potentially triggering mudslides, downing trees and flooding not only freeways but also homes and businesses.

If the forecasts are right, this could be one of the stormiest Christmases in recent memory for Southern California. There’s an 80% chance downtown Los Angeles will get 2 or more inches of rain from Tuesday through Christmas Day. The last time downtown got 2 or more inches of rain over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was in 1971.

Here’s what you need to know.

Timing

The peak of the system is expected Tuesday through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

There’s an 80% to 100% chance of rain in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties starting Tuesday night and lasting into Wednesday and Thursday.

In Orange County, the Inland Empire and San Diego County, light showers are possible Tuesday, but the heaviest rainfall is expected Wednesday, with officials warning of heavy rainfall, increased flooding risks and possible mudslides. Flood and mudslide risks will continue Thursday.

Expected effects of the storm for Orange County, the Inland Empire and San Diego County.

(National Weather Service)

Worst-case scenario

Forecasters are warning that there’s a 40% chance of “very high” amounts of rain for Los Angeles, Ventura and southern Santa Barbara counties, and a 30% chance of the same for northern Santa Barbara County and San Luis Obispo County.

That scenario would see 4 or more inches of rain fall on the coast and in the valleys, with 8 or more inches in the mountains and foothills, Tuesday through Thursday. Peak rainfall rates would be half an inch to 1 inch per hour.

According to the National Weather Service, that could cause:

• Significant mudslides
• Flooded freeways
• Streams and rivers flooding over their banks
• Localized flooding that could rise above curbs and into homes and businesses
• Moderate coastal flooding in south-facing areas
• Downed trees and power lines
• Dangerous sea conditions
• Swiftwater rescues

Rainfall probabilities for Los Angeles, Ventura and southern Santa Barbara counties.

(National Weather Service)

Between Tuesday and Thursday, numerous areas have a high chance of seeing 3 or more inches of rain. There’s a 77% chance of that occurring in Anaheim and Yorba Linda, a 74% chance in Santa Ana, a 73% chance in Ontario, a 71% chance in Mission Viejo, a 69% chance in Irvine, a 68% chance in Chino, a 65% chance in Laguna Niguel and a 60% chance in San Clemente.

Rainfall probabilities for northern Santa Barbara County and San Luis Obispo County.

(National Weather Service)

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‘High amounts’ of rain scenario

There’s also a 40% chance of “high amounts” of rain in L.A., Ventura and southern Santa Barbara counties, and a 50% chance of the same in northern Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. That scenario would entail 2 to 4 inches of rain falling along the coast and in the valleys, with 4 to 8 inches in the mountains and foothills.

Rain to that extent would risk flooding freeway lanes; causing minor coastal flooding, mudslides and debris flows; and potentially force swiftwater rescues in fast-moving rivers and streams.

Wind

There’s a potential for gusty winds from the south, said Robbie Munroe, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Oxnard office, which issues forecasts for L.A., Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

That risks toppling trees and power lines. On Tuesday night, Los Angeles could see peak gusts of 31 mph; Woodland Hills, 38 mph; Paso Robles, 52 mph; and San Luis Obispo, 53 mph.

“Avoid parking under trees,” the weather service said. “Secure loose outdoor objects.”

There’s a 65% chance of gusts exceeding 35 mph in Huntington Beach, a 60% chance in San Diego, a 45% chance in Big Bear Lake and Ramona, a 40% chance in Escondido and a 35% chance in Riverside, according to the weather service office in San Diego.

Thousands of immigrant drivers whose commercial driver’s licenses are set to expire next month were left bewildered and disappointed when news spread that California was planning on reissuing the licenses — only to learn federal regulators had not authorized doing so.

Amarjit Singh, a trucker and owner of a trucking company in the Bay Area, said he and other drivers were hopeful when word of California’s intentions reached them.

“We were happy [the California Department of Motor Vehicles] was going to reissue them,” he said. “But now, things aren’t so clear and it feels like we’re in the dark.”

Singh said he doesn’t know whether he should renew his insurance and permits that allow him to operate in different states.

“I don’t know if I’m going to have to look for another job,” he said. “I’m stuck.”

Singh is one of 17,000 drivers who were given 60-day cancellation notices on Nov. 6 following a federal audit of California’s non-domiciled commercial driver’s license program, which became a political flashpoint after an undocumented truck driver was accused of making an illegal U-turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people.

The nationwide program allows immigrants authorized to work in the country to obtain commercial driver’s licenses. But officials said the federal audit found that the California Department of Motor Vehicles had issued thousands of licenses with expiration dates that extended beyond the work permits, prompting federal officials to halt the program until the state was in compliance.

This week, the San Francisco Chronicle obtained a letter dated Dec. 10 from DMV Director Steve Gordon to the U.S Department of Transportation stating that the state agency had met federal guidelines and would begin reissuing the licenses.

In a statement to The Times, DMV officials confirmed that they had notified regulators and were planning to issue the licenses on Wednesday, but federal authorities told them Tuesday that they could not proceed.

DMV officials said they met with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which oversees issuance of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses, to seek clarification about what issues remain unresolved.

A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation, which oversees the FMCSA, would only say that it was continuing to work with the state to ensure compliance.

The DMV is hopeful the federal government will allow California to move ahead, said agency spokesperson Eva Spiegel.

“Commercial drivers are an important part of our economy — our supply chains don’t move and our communities don’t stay connected without them,” Spiegel said. “DMV stands ready to resume issuing commercial driver’s licenses, including corrected licenses to eligible drivers. Given we are in compliance with federal regulations and state law, this delay by the federal government not only hurts our trucking industry, but it also leaves eligible drivers in the cold without any resolution during this holiday season.”

Bhupinder Kaur — director of operations at UNITED SIKHS, a national human and civil rights organization — said the looming cancellations will disproportionately impact Sikh, Punjabi, Latino and other immigrant drivers who are essential to California’s freight economy.

“I’ve spoken to truckers who have delayed weddings. I’ve spoken to truckers who have closed their trucking companies. I’ve spoken to truckers who are in this weird limbo of not knowing how to support their families,” Kaur said. “I myself come from a trucker family. We’re all facing the effects of this.”

Despite hitting a speed bump this week, Kaur said the Sikh trucking community remains hopeful.

“The Sikh sentiment is always to remain optimistic,” she said. “We’re not going to accept it — we’re just gonna continue to fight.”