Tuesday's strong, steady storm was a powerhouse, flooding streets, putting the LA River to work channeling fast-moving runoff toward the sea, and racking up record rainfall totals across Los Angeles. "This is not a bashful El Niño. This is a brash El Niño," JPL climatologist Bill Patzert tells the LA Times. (Patzert shared his El Niño tips and insights with Curbed earlier this week—read up!) He says that Tuesday's storm racked up more rain than any single day in the last year, with the exception of September 15, "when the remnants of Hurricane Linda washed ashore." But that September day wasn't followed by several more days of rain. Yesterday's storm certainly will be.
By 2 pm,Tuesday's downpour had brought 1.39 inches of rain to Downtown, 1.75 inches to Beverly Hills, 1.79 inches to South Gate, 2.2 inches to Pasadena, and 2.46 inches to poor Alhambra (at least one street was captured looking quite pond-like). LAX's old record of 1.32 inches was demolished by yesterday's 1.42 inches of rain at the airport, says the LA Daily News, citing National Weather Service reports.
It also seems like that old stereotype about LA drivers and rain rang true yesterday on both streets and freeways. "There is definitely an increase in traffic incidents, especially with big rigs," a rep for the California Highway Patrol's Southern Division in LA County tells the LADN, and the LAPD also noted an overall uptick in traffic accidents. In the Sepulveda Basin area, Burbank Boulevard at the 405 Freeway, Hayvenhurst, Balboa, and Victory were all closed. (Burbank and Balboa is where that already-infamous Mini Cooper was submerged.)
No need to check the weather in Los Angeles. Traffic tells you everything you need to know. #rainpocalypse pic.twitter.com/5NyDuGZs6X
— Laura J. Nelson (@laura_nelson) January 5, 2016
And that was just the beginning, it seems. Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, tells the Daily News that the four-storm series hitting this week will really kick into gear today, possibly creating wind gusts of up to 60 mph in the Antelope Valley. Another NWS meteorologist, Emily Thornton, tells the Times that the "bigger story" with today's storm is that "it'll be over a longer period of time," meaning that it could potentially bring even more precipitation than yesterday's deluge, which moved through town fairly quickly. The rain should taper off around late Thursday, but there's also the potential for more wetness next week or over the weekend. (Need sandbags or updates on flood warnings? Los Angeles has got a map for that.)
Heavy rain expected again today. FLOODING POTENTIAL!!!.. Expecting 2-4" local 5" today. #LArain #ElNino #cawx pic.twitter.com/LL6wK4ALfg
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 6, 2016
Wed storm potential impacts: burn area debris flows, roadway flooding, downed trees, and dangerous winter storm conditions. #cawx #ElNino
— NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) January 6, 2016
· El Nino storm sets rain records in California [LAT]
· Second of four storms pounds Southern California [LADN]
· 13 Wildest Images of Today's Monster Los Angeles Rainstorm [Curbed LA]
· An Expert Explains: What Exactly Should Los Angeles Expect From This Winter's Brewing El Niño? [Curbed LA]