As forecast, this storm just kept on delivering
Rainfall records are swamped in Southern California
The third in a series of powerful winter storms unleashed a deluge in Southern California on Sunday, flooding numerous roads and freeways, setting rainfall records and stranding some in dangerously rising waters.
Forecasters had predicted this storm would be the strongest in several years, and it didn’t disappoint. While earlier storms produced periods of heavy showers, this one delivered several hours of sustained pounding rain, with damaging results.
Coastal areas of Los Angeles County were among the hardest hit, with Long Beach Airport setting an alltime rainfall record of 3.87 inches. The intense rain was too much for local roads. Sunday afternoon, both the 110 Freeway in Carson and the 710 Freeway in Long Beach were shut down because of extreme flooding that left cars stranded like islands in a lake.
In Long Beach and surrounding communities, dozens of intersections were flooded and some residents reported their parked cars were damaged as the rainwater kept rising. Across the region, several people were rescued from their cars and thousands lost power.
Brett Albright, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s office in San Diego, said the storm dumped as much as 4 inches of rain in some places.
“Today was very intense,” said Albright. “It’s not a normal event. It was definitely a culmination of the perfect circumstances: We had a very intense atmospheric river with a lot of moisture and an area of lift in the atmosphere right over coastal Los Angeles and Orange counties. It forced all of that moisture out.
“It’s not often we see
higher rainfall totals on the coast than in the mountains,” he said.
Southern California has been mired in a five-year drought. But this storm is part of a larger shift toward wetter conditions that began last fall.
Since Oct. 1, downtown L.A. has received more than 13 inches of rain — 216% of normal rainfall for this period, which the NWS said was 6.26 inches.
Officials said much of the Southland remains in drought, although the recent storms are helping.
On Sunday, the brunt of the storm hit in the afternoon.
Rock slides closed roads in Malibu and other coastal mountain areas. Up the coast in Isla Vista, a cliff and a patio collapsed into the ocean. Rescuers had to evacuate 15 to 20 residents of oceanfront apartment units, according to Gina DePinto, a spokeswoman for Santa Barbara County.
At least one fatality was believed to be linked to the storm. A motorist in Pomona was driving in heavy rain about 3:15 p.m., lost control of the vehicle and smashed into a telephone pole, according to the Pomona Police Department. The driver suffered major injuries and was pronounced dead by Los Angeles County paramedics. The person’s name was not released pending notification of family members.
A homeless encampment off Pacific Coast Highway in Harbor City was submerged in several feet of water. Los Angeles fire rescue teams helped three people walk out of the flooded area and brought two others out by boat, officials said.
One of those rescued, a 39-year-old man, was transported to a hospital. Swiftwater rescue teams were still searching for other victims late Sunday afternoon in the area, which had dense vegetation.
By late Sunday, the Los Angeles Fire Department had recorded 170 weatherrelated calls, including ones for flooding, downed power lines and fallen trees.
“This is the largest storm response we’ve had in several years,” said Margaret Stewart, a department spokeswoman.
Some of the biggest concerns about the storm came from the communities hit by wildfires last year. Heavy rains can cause mudslides in burn areas, and some officials urged residents to evacuate.
Evacuation orders were issued for burn areas in Glendora, Duarte, Silverado Canyon in Orange County and parts of Santa Barbara County.
As of Sunday night, most of the hillsides had held up, to the relief of anxious homeowners.
In the Duarte burn area, many residents chose to stay in their homes. Rudy Fuentes, an elementary school teacher, said he decided to stay behind to protect his home in case things really got out of hand.
“I hope it doesn’t come to that,” said Fuentes, whose driveway was covered in about 2 inches of mud. “We just decided to stick it out.”
Jerry Katz, a 25-year resident of the neighborhood, wasn’t worried at all about the situation. He didn’t put down any sandbags or dig any trenches. He blamed the city’s orders to leave on nervous lawyers.
“The real problem is I can’t take my son to Cheesecake Factory tonight,” Katz said.
Orange County officials remained on guard, particularly in Silverado Canyon, which is still recovering from a nearly 1,000-acre fire in 2014. Extra emergency crews have been brought in to help, including a bulldozer operator and two swift-water rescue teams.
The epic rains caused something very unusual at Disneyland on Sunday: a quiet day with small crowds. As heavy rains poured and a flash-flood warning was issued, the sparse number of guests hid under the monorail.
But the visitors who braved the weather enjoyed short lines — less than half an hour for Hyperspace Mountain, where lines typically can last for two hours.
Thunderstorm conditions were expected to ease slightly late Sunday into Monday. But the rainfall is expected to continue until Tuesday.
In all, the storm system is expected to generate 4 to 6 inches of rainfall over the next few days, with most of it in the foothill and mountain areas.
Clearer skies and temperatures in the mid- to high 60s are expected to return beginning Friday.
The storm also caused problems in Northern California, which has seen a series of major storms over the last few months that lifted much of the region out of drought.
Mudslides and snow closed major roads including Interstate 80, U.S. 395 and Highway 17, the main freeway linking Silicon Valley with Santa Cruz.
Monster surf on Saturday set a wave height record for Monterey Bay: 34.12 feet, according to the NWS. The previous record was 32.8 feet, set in 2008. Those conditions smashed the remains of the famed concrete ship the SS Palo Alto, in the Monterey Bay town of Aptos.