The latest atmospheric riverine megastorm that inundated Southern California with rainfall and strong winds, triggering mudslide evacuations and causing widespread road flooding, generated impressive rainfall totals Monday morning.
Rainfall exceeded 10 inches in some areas of Los Angeles County on two days, easily exceeding the average amount recorded for the entire month of February, according to the National Weather Service.
“And February is our wettest month,” said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. He noted that this storm is “significant.”
As of 8 a.m. Monday, downtown Los Angeles had recorded 5.62 inches of rain in the previous 24 hours. The February average is 3.80 inches.
Historical records will not be confirmed until the storm passes and rain is still forecast for several days. But Kittell said Sunday had already become the region's 10th wettest calendar day since records began being kept in 1877. The two-day rainfall tally is expected to top the top five in history, he said, noting that the heaviest rain fell Sunday night. and early Monday morning.
And there's still more rain to come, with another 1.5 to 3 inches expected across the Los Angeles basin. The highest elevations, which had already recorded the greatest amounts of rain, could receive 3 to 6 more inches, Kittell said.
“It's pretty relentless; None of the intensity we saw last night, but the rains won't really let up until possibly Thursday,” Kittelll said. “But in general it should be light in nature. The only warning is that we have a chance for thunderstorms, so if we do have a thunderstorm, we could get a short, heavy downpour.”
Here are the highest rainfall numbers in select Southern California cities as of 8 a.m. Monday. The totals include rain that began Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service.
Los Angeles County
- Santa Monica Mountains, at Topanga Fire Station: 10.67 inches
- Bel-Air: 10.46 inches
- Sepulveda Pass, near Skirball Cultural Center: 10.28 inches
- Santa Monica Municipal Airport: 5.58 inches
- Brentwood: 9.90 inches
- Inglewood: 4.96 inches
- Los Angeles International Airport: 3.27 inches
- Downtown Los Angeles: 5.95 inches
- Forest hills: 6.73 inches
- Malibu Canyon: 8.06 inches
- Van Nuys Airport: 6.04 inches
- Eagle Rock Reservoir: 4.05 inches
- Los Angeles Valley College: 7.41 inches
- San Gabriel Dam: 6.26 inches
- Port city: 4.83 inches
- Pommel: 5.73 inches
Areas with higher elevation recorded higher totals, Kittell said, as the hills and mountains act as a ramp to push air up and squeeze moisture out of the storm.
Areas along the coast have recorded some of the lowest totals, with 2.78 inches reported at Long Beach Airport, 2.55 inches in Manhattan Beach and 2.59 in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties:
- Matilija Canyon near Ojai: 8.52 inches
- Ojai: 4.38 inches
- Oxnard: 1.85 inches
- Thousand oaks: 3.58 inches
- Lake houses: 4.93 inches
- Montecito: 5.04 inches
- Joinery: 4.2 inches
- Santa Barbara: 4.39 inches
In much of San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange Counties, Rainfall counts generally remained below 3 inches Monday morning, but those regions are expecting the worst precipitation all day Monday and into Tuesday. San Diego County No heavy rain is forecast until Monday night into Tuesday, although predictions have been more moderate.
