The persistent rain that has drenched Southern California since Sunday was projected to continue on Tuesday, Feb. 6, albeit a bit weaker than Monday’s showers — but with much of the region already saturated with rainwater, the threats of flooding, closed roads and downed trees were still possible.
The main band of showers — which have delivered more than 11 inches of rain in pockets of Los Angeles County — was “wobbling” between Orange and L.A. counties on Monday, and was outside the jet stream.
“It’s just the way the flow pattern is set up,” said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist in the Los Angeles/Oxnard office of the National Weather Service. “Sometimes they move forward, sometimes they move back, depending on the forces that are acting on it.”
Wofford was expecting a quarter-inch to a half-inch per hour in spots through Tuesday night, with more breaks in the rainfall than earlier in the storm.
While Tuesday’s rain will likely transition into more intermittent showers throughout the day over Los Angeles County, the damage done by Monday’s heavy showers will still invite the risk for additional mudslides and flooding, said NWS meteorologist Kristan Lund.
“The atmospheric river is weakening,” Lund said. But “the ground was pretty well saturated on Monday and even with the lighter showers expected there is still enough force to do some damage.”
A chance for thunderstorms on Tuesday will also bring the chance of heavier rain over certain parts of the county, mainly near the Santa Monica Mountains foothills.
Tuesday’s heaviest rain in Orange County was set to hit before 6 a.m., with the storm eventually weakening into more scattered showers in the afternoon, said NWS meteorologist Philip Gonsalves.
“The good news is that rainfall rates have decreased, across most of Orange County,” Gonsalves said. “The bad news is in the last 12 hours, a lot of Orange County has gotten over an inch of rain, and in the last 24 hours, much of Orange County, has gotten more than 3 inches.
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“All that rain now is running off rather than percolating downward so even with the weaker showers we’re still gonna see the possibility of weather-related damage,” he said.
Moderate rain was forecast throughout the morning for Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
“We expect this widespread moderate rain to continue through (Monday night) and into the morning,” Gonsalves said. “Tomorrow (Tuesday) is when things start to change a little bit with the system becoming a bit more showery in afternoon.”
There will be some breaks in the storm between now and then,” he said. “With hit-or-miss showers later Tuesday and into Wednesday.”
More rain was expected on Wednesday night, too, as a colder storm moves in that could lower the snow level to 4,500 to 5,000 feet.
The large volume of rain and snow is attributed to what’s known as an atmospheric river: A flowing column of condensed water vapor from the Pacific Ocean that as it moves inland and over the mountains, rises and cools to produce precipitation. Some of these storms can be weak, while others produce dangerous amounts of precipitation.
So what are those atmospheric rivers anyway? 🤔
Think of it as a large column of moisture in the air funneling from the ocean into California, which can bring heavy rainfall and mountain snow like we’ll see this week. Take a look below for a more in-depth view 🔎☔️🏔️ #CAwx pic.twitter.com/g92ppRbsDG
— NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) February 4, 2024
Some rainfall counts in Los Angeles County for the 72 hours before 4 p.m. Monday were eye-popping: Bel Air, which had problems with debris flows, received 11.64 inches. Sepulveda Canyon got 11.46; Pasadena, 6.09; and Long Beach, 3.92.
Downtown Los Angeles caught 4.10 inches of rain on Sunday alone — blowing away its highest recorded total for any Feb. 4, which previously was a mere 2.55 inches in 1927, according to the National Weather Service.
In San Bernardino County, Lytle Creek received 9.71 inches in that 48 hours, Cal State San Bernardino got 5.83 and Ontario International Airport collected 3.83.
Coto de Caza in Orange County received 4.69 inches, while Anaheim had 2.56 and John Wayne Airport got 1.80.
In Riverside County, Prado Dam had 2.74 inches, March Air Reserve Base, 1.63, and Temecula, 1.22.
San Bernardino County firefighters rescued a family of three early Monday in Devore after their SUV and trailer washed down a creek until stopped by a tree. The driver of the Chevrolet Tahoe, hauling a box trailer, had tried to find a shortcut and attempted to cross Keenbrook Road, which was covered by water from Cajon Creek, said Eric Sherwin, a Fire Department spokesman. A couple and their teenage son escaped raging water by climbing a tree and then called 911 late Sunday.
Early Monday, two tethered firefighters entered the water. They made it to the family, strapped the three to their bodies, placed themselves between the current and the victims and walked to safety.
One of the rescuers recounted to Sherwin the challenges they faced because of the current, obstacles in the water, darkness and limited access.
“He said it was the sketchiest rescue in his career,” Sherwin said. “He was actually fearful for his own life but realized if (they) didn’t go out there, nobody else would get out there.”
That was one of many such incidents for swift-water rescue teams in Southern California, typically involving homeless people who did not evacuate river areas or motorists who drove through high water.
Riverside city firefighters rescued seven homeless adults and their 12 dogs from the Santa Ana River near Van Buren Boulevard. Some people chose to stay and were left with a path to safety, Capt. Paul Seawright said.
In Studio City, firefighters assisted 16 residents, and their pets, with evacuations from all nine homes on Lockridge Road. Some of those evacuations were precautionary, “in case further soil instability causes another flow nearby,” Los Angeles Fire Department’s Nicholas Prange said.
At least two of the Lockridge homes were severely damaged when a river of mud surged down the hillside just behind them early Monday, carrying everything along with it — mangled fencing, garbage cans, branches and large boulders.
Evacuations of about 40 people took place Saturday and Sunday in the Topanga Canyon area of unincorporated Los Angeles County.
The Los Angeles Unified School District and some local colleges opted for a normal school day while other college campuses canceled in-person classes on Monday, Feb. 5. Although nearly all LAUSD campuses were open, the school district saw a big drop in student attendance.
LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said 63% of students attended school Monday – far below the average of about 92%. He said officials expected a drop after telling parents on Sunday to use their judgment about whether it was safe for children to go to school given the road conditions.
Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain closed on Monday due to the rain, with Disneyland and Disney California Adventure slated to close early.
Driving was hazardous in some spots, with sinkholes popping up on Archibald Road in Ontario and on the Cedar Avenue off-ramp from the eastbound 10 Freeway in Bloomington.
Staff writers Josh Cain, Brady MacDonald, Steve Scauzillo and Linh Tat and City News Service contributed to this report.