A fast-moving storm made its way over Southern California on Monday, Jan. 22, leading to a few cases of freeways flooding while also delivering much-needed rainfall.
There were some slow downs on the roadways due to water pooling, including along the 405 Freeway in the Carson area and the 110 Freeway in San Pedro in the morning, said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
In Los Angeles County, around three-quarters of an inch to twice that fell, with coastal spots including the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Torrance receiving the brunt of the downpour — a little over three inches of rain.
Higher up, in the San Gabriel Mountains, around 3 and a half inches of rain fell — with one to two inches of snow falling at the 7,000-foot level. The San Bernardino Mountains were treated to a bit less rain but about the same amount of snow.
“We saw snow levels in the San Bernardino Mountains dip down to 6,500 feet in the morning, but it came back up in the afternoon,” said Brian Adams, another Weather Service meteorologist.
For Lynette Paoli, who manages the Elkhorn General Store in Forest Falls, a mountain community in San Bernardino County, the quick downpour was much needed.
“It started out with just some rain, then came the big giant snowflakes that left some snow in the backyard,” Paoli said. “But the snow stopped pretty quick.”
Down the mountains, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties caught showers that dropped three-quarters to one inch, with some cities — including Ontario and Moreno Valley — getting around an inch of rain, Adams said.
In Orange County, around an inch to and inch and a half of rain dropped over much of the area, with Anaheim and Santa receiving closer to two inches, Adams said. The heaviest rain fell in the Santa Ana Mountains, which absorbed two to four inches.
“The storm was a pretty substantial event,” Adams said. “Though it was short-lived, it will provide a sizable chunk of water for the year.”
On Tuesday, the storm was to have left the region, with skies slowly peaking about behind some cloud coverage that will slowly burn off by the weekend, Adams said.