Los Angeles County’s first significant storm in more than eight months has already forced the closure of five freeways in Grapevine, unleashed mud on roads and caused the closure of public schools in Malibu on Monday.
There are still concerns about the possibility of landslides and rock piles in areas of LA County recently burned by Wildfire. Just before 4 a.m., a severe thunderstorm capable of producing water space and hail was detected near Catalina Island.
The National Weather Service has issued flood watches for several recently burned areas. It has been warned of a 10% to 20% chance of significant flash flooding and debris flows that could damage roads and homes in and around areas destroyed by the bushfires.
Here’s what you need to know:
influence
Grapevine Shutt Interstate 5
Interstate 5 was closed at Grapevine, a major section of the road through the Tejon Pass connecting Los Angeles County and the Central Valley.
Grapevine was closed late Sunday night and crews were “working to clear the snow,” Caltran said. Caltran on Monday morning suggested using US 101 as an alternate route between Los Angeles County and Central California.
“The closure will be in place for an unknown period of time,” the California Highway Patrol said.
Malibu Public Schools were closed on Monday
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District announced that all four schools in Malibu will be closed on Monday due to hazardous road conditions and school access challenges. Santa Monica public schools remain open.
Pacific Coast Highway affected by flooding
A portion of the Pacific Coast Highway was closed due to flooding in Topanga Canyon, National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Szilard said Sunday. Rainfall picked up 0.74 inches on Topanga Canyon Boulevard at the edge of the fire boundary, he said.
Caltran said Mudafroz forced the closure of Pacific Coast Highway west of Topanga Canyon Boulevard on Sunday afternoon.
Caltrans’ QuickMap website said early Monday that northbound Pacific Coast Highway remained closed at Topanga Canyon Boulevard and southbound PCH was closed from Sweetwater Canyon Road.
Topanga Canyon Boulevard, also known as California 27, is closed. The rain caused Topanga Creek to overflow and debris covered the road. Crews fixing damage from the Palisade fire had to be evacuated, Caltran said.
vehicle stuck in mud
Four vehicles were trapped in the mud along Mulholland Drive around the 4100 block of Alhama Drive in Woodland Hills Sunday evening.
No one needed to be rescued, but authorities summoned a tow truck to remove the trapped vehicle, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
Movement of mud and ash from burnt areas
Pacific Palisades Town Hall officials said the Los Angeles Fire Department was working to clear mud that had built up on Palisades Drive Sunday evening, and water laden with black ash reached the beach.
high desert white state
Caltran said the eastbound section of California 138 in the high desert of Los Angeles County is experiencing white conditions due to heavy foaming. Caltran said it will avoid California 138 between the San Bernardino County lines up to its confluence with California 18.
Concerns about landslides in recently burned areas
Be careful of flood-burned areas
A flood watch is scheduled to remain in effect until 4 p.m. Monday for the Eaton Fire burn area in the Altadena and Pasadena areas. Palisade and Franklin fire in the Palisade and Malibu area of the Pacific Ocean. The fuse is a fire around Kastati Lake. and the Bridge Fire in the San Gabriel Mountains west of Wrightwood and southwest.
Through Monday afternoon, there is a 15% to 25% chance of thunderstorms across a wide swath of Southern California, which could bring heavy rain and the associated risk of mudslides and debris flows.
(National Weather Service)
Debris flows occur when water flows rapidly downhill and picks up rocks, branches, and sometimes boulders in addition to mud. Something that can damage your car or home. It can be life threatening.
how much rain and snow fell
rainfall
Downtown LA has received 0.47 inches of rain from this storm so far. This includes 0.11 inches on Saturday.
Saturday’s rain alone will destroy a record dry spell in downtown Los Angeles. The last time downtown received more than a tenth of an inch of rain in one calendar day was May 5th.
That means, from May 6th through Friday, Downtown LA went 264 consecutive days without seeing at least a tenth of an inch of rain in a single calendar day. The last record for this species downtown was 253 consecutive days from February 25, 2008 to November 3, 2008.
Here’s how much rain fell during this storm through Sunday at 10 p.m.
Fillmore: 1.36 inch
Pepperdine University: 1.15 inch
Thousand Oaks: 1.13 inches
Calabasa: 1.06 inch
Ventura: 1.02 inch
Santa Monica Pier: 0.98 inch
Northridge: 0.97 inch
Bel Air: 0.93 inch
Canoga Park: 0.9 inch
Beverly Hills: 0.83 inch
Claremont: 0.56 inch
LaCañada Flintridge: 0.53 inch
Downtown Los Angeles: 0.47 inches
Whittier: 0.45 inch
Alhambra: 0.4 inch
Culver City: 0.2 inch
snowfall
Heavy snow is expected in the eastern San Gabriel mountains, with up to 14 inches of snow accumulating, the weather service said. Snow levels could drop to 3,000 feet above sea level through Monday.
Travel Monday morning “could be extremely difficult to impossible” along Wrightwood, Wrightwood, Mount Wilson, and Angels Crest Highways.
LA stands out in terms of seasonal rainfall
Downtown LA has received 0.63 inches of rain since October 1st. That’s 6.66 inches, which is a metaphorical bucket drop for downtown on average at this point in the season. That’s about 9% of the average.
Before this weekend’s rain, an unusually dry start to the year of water ranked it second-worst in the record books for downtown LA.
Very dry conditions are a combination that keeps vegetation flammable and explosive during strong Santa Ana wind events, and if a fire does start, it can spread quickly.
Weather outlook after this storm
Light showers are expected in LA and Ventura counties by late afternoon. Partly cloudy skies are possible for most areas in the late afternoon, and the storm is expected to mostly dissipate by late Monday, the weather bureau said.
There is a slight chance of afternoon showers in the San Gabriel Mountains on Tuesday.
Forecasters then expect drier weather later in the week. The weekend could bring clouds and rain into next weekend, primarily toward San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, the weather service said.
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