Font Resize
As rain pelted the Southland for the fifth straight day Monday, weather forecasters said the warm tropical storms could turn this December into the wettest on record for Los Angeles.
But don't despair, white Christmas fans: The storms might turn cold enough to dump snow on local ski resorts by Christmas Day.
"Right now, Santa's in trouble because the storm has been so warm," said Bill Patzert, climatologist for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Ca ada-Flintridge. "But snow levels will drop, and Santa will be saved.
"Christmas morning, we might have a new champion. On Christmas day, this'll be the wettest December in history."
What some have said could turn out to be a once-in-a-decade, 7-day deluge
On Monday, LAX set a record at 0.98 inches, breaking an old record of 0.70 inches in 1952.
The steady soaker that has plagued commuters and holiday shoppers and threatened flash floods has also come a month before the regular rain season on account of a La Ni a weather pattern, forecasters said.
It's also blocked out Monday's total lunar eclipse
This month, close to 5 inches have fallen downtown, most of it since the rains began Thursday - and more than twice the average rainfall for December.
With up to 4 inches of rain expected by Christmas, the tally could well exceed the 8.77 inches of December
"Rain. And rain. Followed by some rain," said Jamie Meier, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard. "We may get some more rain Christmas night."
The weather service has issued a flash flood watch through late Wednesday in recent burn areas in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
Forecasters said as much as 12 inches has already fallen in nearby mountains, with up to 8 more inches expected before the storms peter out.
In La Ca ada Flintridge, where more than 40 homes were damaged or destroyed in the Paradise Valley neighborhood because of mudslides in February, residents below the burned hillsides remained vigilant for any sign of sliding earth.
There are 28 debris basins in the burned areas and all were holding up, said Bob Spencer, spokesman for the county's Department of Public Works.
"Right now there's very little material going into them," he said.
The blaze that became known as the Station Fire last year destroyed tons of vegetation and brush which came down and clogged debris basins during a fast-moving storm system last February.
"When we've had steady rain like we've had, that does not cause us as many problems as does tropical cells or torrential downpours," Spencer said. "What happened last year was there were a couple of quirky systems that parked over the L.A. area and dumped a huge amount of rain."
What is of concern to Spencer and homeowners is the next few rainfalls that may include thunderstorms.
Spencer said because of the damage caused during the Station Fire, Public Works crews will have to monitor the area for the next 6 to 7 years.
The city's Bureau of Sanitation reported no blocked storm drains Monday after workers had prepared for the storm by clearing 35,000 catch basins.
Meier credited the monsoon-like weather not to the so-called Pineapple Express from Hawaii, as originally believed.
Instead, moisture from the South Pacific near Tahiti has butted up against a massive low-pressure system off Washington state, which has sent storm "pulses" hurling down the coast.
While the warm rains have brought needed moisture, they've left the mountains mostly devoid of the snowpack needed to replenish the state's water supply, Patzert said.
On Monday, the region weathered a pitter-patter lull, with 1.01 inches falling on Los Angeles, 0.80 at Burbank Airport and 0.45 in Palmdale.
But the spigot is expected to fully open today with wind gusts up to 25 mph and thunderstorms after 10 p.m. Up to an inch of rain could fall an hour.
The thunderstorms are expected to peter out late Wednesday before the sun shines later in the week.
Dark clouds are hurling over the horizon, however, with more rains expected late Christmas Day. And as the weather cools, Meier said the snow level may drop as low as 5,500 feet, Meier said.
That comes nearly two weeks after Los Angeles sweltered for several days during a late fall heatwave that hit 85 degrees.
Patzert had predicted a drier-than-normal year because of cooler-than-normal temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, a weather condition known as La Ni a.
But while La Ni a generally banishes precipitation to the Pacific Northwest, it can also invite early rain - and a desiccated January-through-March traditionally rainy season, forecasters said.
Around the San Fernando Valley, leaves that only a week ago flaunted glorious fall colors fell in heaps on the soggy ground. Christmas decorations such as plastic Santas, snowmen and reindeer sagged on lawns.
Crews with the city's Department of Public Works, Bureau of Street Services, Urban Forestry Division worked Monday to clear leaf heavy branches that snapped off.
So far, the city has had 280 tree-related calls, more than a third from the Valley.
And the Los Angeles county health department extended its beach advisory until Thursday.
"We do advise swimmers and surfers to stay away from the storm drains, creeks and rivers as there is the possibility that bacteria or chemicals from debris and trash may contaminate the water," said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the county's public health director said.
In the meantime, the California Highway Patrol also will step up its presence for a rainy, Christmas Eve getaway on Friday.
At least 70 percent of all CHP officers will be out on highways to catch speeders and drivers under the influence of alcohol, said Officer Leland Tang, spokesman for the CHP's West Valley division.
"Last year during the Christmas holiday, 22 people were killed in collisions statewide," Tang said. "We're hoping obviously to see a decrease in that."
