Big waves slam beaches and streets flood – but Southern California escapes major storm damage
A strong Pacific storm lashed Southern California on Thursday, flooding roads, downing trees and forcing some freeway lane closures, but the system traveled through quickly and did less damage than feared.
Without major mudslides or widespread destruction to homes or businesses, the most storm-related activity was along the coast, where the rain, wind gusts, high tides and a big westerly swell had crews in Los Angeles County racing to pull lifeguard towers off beaches as waves threatened to pull them out to sea.
A considerable loss of shoreline was reported in some places.
The system dropped less rain than expected. But as of 5:30 p.m., Pasadena saw 3 1/2 inches of rain over 48 hours, and Woodland Hills and Porter Ranch in the San Fernando Valley got 3 inches, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Sirard. Los Angeles International Airport received about 1 1/2 inches.
The San Bernardino County Mountains registered 4 inches of rain in 12 hours, while parts of Orange County saw more than an inch, NWS meteorologist Brian Adams said.
Waves slam ashore
The winter swell that rolled in Thursday and is expected to last through Friday hit hard along west-facing beaches in the South Bay – Hermosa Beach, Dockweiler Beach and Manhattan Beach – with waves that topped 15 feet slamming ashore.
“We’re seeing a significant loss of shoreline and large surf has taken out large chunks of sand,” said Capt. AJ Lester with Los Angeles County Lifeguards and Fire. “This has been a significant event and we are losing beach more rapidly than expected.”
Lifeguards were also watching cliffs in Palos Verdes and an area known as Abalone Cove – where sea caves draw large numbers of people – to make sure there were no rock falls.
Lester also warned that beachgoers should stay clear of the sand and rocks over the next few days because intermittent wave surges – some topping more than 10 feet – can still be expected.
A strong winter storm brought lots of rain and treacherous conditions across Southern California, including this street flooding on Balboa Island early Thursday. More on the storm, including updates @ocregister pic.twitter.com/GnwEtiVnt4
— Mark Evans (@markevans_ap) January 5, 2023
“If you’re sitting on rocks, all of a sudden a set can come in and knock you off,” he said.
The Manhattan Beach pier will be closed until at least Saturday, city spokeswoman Jessica Vincent said.
In Orange County, agencies reported swells, but no major issues along the beaches by Thursday afternoon.
In West Newport Beach, city crews dug up sand Thursday morning to further bolster berms built in that area. The extra sand was precautionary, said John Pope, the city’s spokesman, because the area between 40th and 50th streets has seen some flooding in the past.
He said the greatest concern in Newport Beach was the sand berm near the Newport Pier, an area that frequently sees flooding. That berm is built up just after Labor Day for the winter and is typically about 20 feet tall. On Thursday morning, it was holding up, Pope said.
“We didn’t see the surge and surf we were expecting,” said Josh Leith, spokesperson for Newport Beach’s lifeguards and fire departments. “We’re thinking it will be higher tomorrow.”
Flooded roads
Flooding in the Sepulveda Basin forced the closure of multiple roads in that area early Thursday morning, helping to snarl traffic in the San Fernando Valley.
A stretch of the northbound 710 Freeway in Long Beach was temporarily closed at Artesia Boulevard because of flooding, with some reports indicating 3 to 4 feet of water had accumulated on the roadway.
Flooding was also reported on the 5 Freeway in the Sun Valley area, forcing some lane closures.
A rockslide led to the closure of westbound lanes of Pacific Coast Highway at Big Rock Drive in the Malibu area. Decker Canyon Road was also closed temporarily between PCH and Decker School Road due to a rockslide, according to the city of Malibu and Caltrans.
Flooding was also reported on PCH near Temescal Canyon Road, while power lines and trees were reported down in the 700 block of Old Topanga Canyon Road in the hills south of Calabasas.
Pacific Coast Highway was closed from Seapoint Lane to Warner Avenue in Huntington Beach, and in Pacific Palisades from Chautauqua Boulevard to Temescal Canyon Road because of flooding, according to Caltrans.
And flooding was seen along some streets on Balboa Island in Orange County.
A large tree toppled in Burbank overnight, blocking residential streets in the area of Oak Street and Beachwood Drive, according to freelance videographer RMG News.
In Duarte, an alert was issued for areas beneath the Fish Fire burn area until 6 a.m. Friday, with restrictions to keep cars and trash bins off of streets that could potentially flood.
Emergency management officials in Riverside and San Bernardino counties said Thursday that the storm did not cause any significant problems. Mountainsides in burn scars held as the heavy downpours in a short amount of time that can trigger mudslides and flooding did not materialize.
More rain to come
Showers, isolated thunderstorms and snow in the mountains would continue into the evening, then clear out by Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
“Large damaging surf” would peak Thursday evening, then subside through Saturday, the NWS said.
Friday should be mostly dry, but a weaker storm system could bring another chance of rain by Saturday night into Sunday. Still more rain is possible between Monday and Tuesday, with dry conditions anticipated mid-week, and then another storm system likely late next week.
Staff writers Brian Rokos, Michael Hixon and Hunter Lee and City News Service contributed to this report.