Southern California rain to taper off after record rainfall in spots
Some areas in Los Angeles County saw record single-day rainfall on Tuesday, March 15, with the fast-moving storm system also leading to a swift-water rescue in Jurupa Valley and road closures in Orange County because of flooding and mudslides.
Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles International Airport and the Long Beach Airport all saw new rainfall records for March 14, according to the National Weather Service. LAX had the biggest jump, receiving 1.97 inches of rain yesterday, storming past the old record of 0.43 inches for the same date in 1982.
Long Beach Airport got nearly a full inch more than its previous record of 0.63 inches in 1982.
No such records were seen in Orange County or in the Inland Empire, but Samantha Connolly, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said that could have been because most of those areas’ rainfall from the storm fell after midnight.
Tuesday’s heavy rainfall led to the closure of a portion of Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach and another closure along Coast Highway in Dana Point due, officials said.
Those heading into Laguna Beach were also warned by the city of delays because of flooding along Laguna Canyon Road.
Orange County was added to Governor Gavin Newsom’s state of emergency list, which also includes San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties. A flood watch remained through Wednesday afternoon for the three counties.
Two portions of Highway 18 in the San Bernardino Mountains remained closed after rockslides and snowfall, Caltrans said.
Elsewhere, in Jurupa Valley, a driver was rescued after his car got stuck in three feet of water near the area of Beach Street and 60th Street, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Alex Paul told Loud Labs News.
Several areas in Orange County and the Inland Empire received more than three inches of rainfall, including Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino County, which received 4.25 inches of rain over the last 24 hours.
Indian Canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains absorbed 3.50 inches, and Santiago Peak collected just more than 3 inches, according to National Weather Service data.
In lower elevations in Orange County, Coto de Caza received 3.47 inches, while a handful of other areas across the county picked up more than 2 inches.
In Riverside County, Norco and north Lake Elsinore topped all areas with 2.05 inches of rainfall, NWS data show.
Rainfall was expected to slow down on Wednesday, with most populated areas across the four counties projected to receive one-tenth to one quarter of an inch of rain, NWS Meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld said.
“It’ll be tapering off into sprinkles and fizzling out into the evening,” she said.
Mountain areas above 6,000 feet could get a dusting of snow, up to about 2 inches, Schoenfeld said.
A dry Thursday — with projected high temperatures in the mid-60s — would lead to the possibility of light showers Friday night into Saturday morning, Schoenfeld said.
In Orange County and the Inland Empire, Saturday showers may continue into the evening and possibly Sunday morning.
Forecasted highs were projected in the low- to mid-60s through the weekend.
The forecasters said another storm system would likely move in next week, starting as early as Tuesday, though model projections were still being mapped out. That storm could be the last of the rain for a while, they said.