A low-pressure system laden with moisture from former tropical cyclone Linda unleashed heavy rain on the Southland Tuesday, producing record amounts of precipitation and wreaking havoc on the morning commute. The hot, humid, rainy conditions made the Southland feel more like Hawaii than Southern California.
As of 3 p.m., 2.39 inches of rain had fallen in downtown Los Angeles, shattering the record for this date of 0.03 inches, set in 1968. Rainfall records were also set at UCLA, with 2.12 inches; Los Angeles International Airport, with 1.79 inches; and Burbank Airport, with 1.02 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
Rainfall records were also set in Lancaster, Palmdale and Sandberg.
According to the NWS, the 2.39 inches of rain in downtown Los Angeles made Tuesday the second-wettest September day since record-keeping began in 1877. The wettest September day was Sept. 25, 1939, when 3.96 inches of rain fell.
Tuesday’s rain also made September 2015 the third-wettest September in downtown Los Angeles since record-keeping began in 1877. The wettest was in 1939, with 5.67 inches.
The rainfall caused major headaches for morning commuters, with wet conditions triggering traffic mishaps throughout the Greater Los Angeles area, causing street flooding in several places and prompting the issuance of SigAlerts on several freeways, some of which were turned into parking lots.
“We have certainly seen an real increase in crashes on area freeways,” said CHP Officer Francisco Villalobos. “There’s been a lot of spinouts, overturned vehicles, jackknifed trucks and fender benders.”
In West Hollywood, a leaking roof prompted the evacuation of at least 135 residents from a three-story assisted-living apartment building at 838 W. Knoll Drive in West Hollywood, according to a Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatcher.
Deputies from the sheriff’s West Hollywood station and officials from Metro were called at 5:03 a.m. to assist in the evacuation of the residents and take them by bus to the West Hollywood Park Auditorium at 647 San Vicente Blvd., said Lt. Edward Ramirez of the sheriff’s West Hollywood station.
Thousands of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers lost power due to the storm, and the rain kept repair crews busy throughout the day.
The weather system’s main band of rain hovered over the region until around noon, but scattered showers continued to douse select areas through the afternoon. There is still about a 20 percent chance of rain tonight, according to the NWS. The storm is expected to be largely out of the area by Wednesday.
Marginally lower temperatures were expected under partly cloudy skies Wednesday, followed by a slight temperature uptick under sunny skies on Thursday and a return to highs in the 90s in some Southland communities on Saturday.
—City News Service