An extended storm that soaked parts of the Southland with more than a foot of rain, leading to hundreds of mudslides and flooded streets, finally moved out of the region Thursday and allowed the sun to return, but temperatures are expected to remain below normal for several days.
National Weather Service forecasters said some isolated showers and light snow are still possible in the mountains, but for the most part it should be a dry day in the area. But temperatures are expected to be “well below normal.”
“It will be chilly the next couple days with some frost/freeze conditions possible,” according to the NWS.
Clear and dry conditions are expected to continue Friday and Saturday. Temperatures are forecast to increase slightly both days, but highs will still be about 5 to 10 degrees below normal. By Sunday, there’s a chance of some Santa Ana winds developing in canyon areas as a warming trend continues, likely returning temperatures to a near-normal level by next Wednesday, forecasters said.
Long-term, there is a chance of another storm developing by the Presidents Day weekend, but those predictions remain uncertain.
Winter storm warnings and advisories that had been in effect in some mountain areas were allowed to expire as scheduled Thursday morning, further signaling an end to the record-setting storm. Conditions had been mostly dry on Wednesday, but the final storm front moved through after sunset, giving the area a last burst of rain.
Over a five-day period ending at 5 a.m. Thursday, more than 13.6 inches of rain fell in Bel Air, nearly 13 inches fell in Woodland Hills, more than 11 inches of rain doused Porter Ranch and more than 9 inches fell in downtown Los Angeles.
According to the NWS, nearly 1.5 inches of rain fell in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday alone. The stretch from Sunday through Tuesday was the second wettest three-day period in downtown Los Angeles since record-keeping began in 1877. The only wetter three-day period occurred in 1938, when 9.2 inches of rain fell.
The NWS said 4.10 inches of rain fell in downtown L.A. on Sunday, breaking the daily rainfall total for Feb. 4 of 2.55 inches set in 1927. It was the third wettest February day and the 12th wettest day for anytime during the year since 1877. The wettest day on record for downtown Los Angeles was 5.88 inches set on March 21, 1938.
A total of 1.76 inches of rain were reported at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday, breaking the record for the day of 0.56 inches set in 1958. There were 1.50 inches of rain reported at Long Beach Airport, breaking the record for the day of 0.69 inches set in 1975.
Downtown Los Angeles broke another record Monday, receiving 2.93 inches of rain. That set a record for the date, surpassing the previous record of 2.30 inches, set 123 years ago in 1901, according to the NWS.
A total of 2.57 inches of rain was reported at LAX on Monday, again breaking the record for the day of 1.42 inches set in 1978. There were 2.57 inches of rain reported at Long Beach Airport, breaking the record for the day of 1.4 inches set in 1978.
A total of 2.19 inches of rain was reported at Hollywood Burbank Airport on Monday, breaking the record for the day of 1.46 inches set in 2009.
The record rainfall extended to the Antelope Valley. There were 1.7 inches of rain reported at Palmdale Airport, breaking the record for the day of 0.61 of an inch set in 1948. The rainfall in Lancaster was 1.49 inches, breaking the record for the day of 0.48 of an inch set in 2009.
The heavy rains caused hundreds of mudslides across the area. City officials said Wednesday night that there had been 562 reports of mudslides during the storm event, leading to 15 buildings being red-tagged as uninhabitable and 31 others yellow-tagged, meaning they can only be entered to collect belongings.
On Wednesday, a series of mudslides forced the closure of a stretch of Mulholland Drive in the Studio City area. It was unclear how long that stretch of road would remain closed.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in eight counties in the state while the storm was raging, including Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Los Angeles County later declared its own state of emergency, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Monday also signed a local emergency declaration.
In Orange County, evacuation orders on Thursday were lifted for Silverado, Williams, Modjeska and Trabuco canyons.