Southern California Experiences Wettest November on โrecord Amidst Intense Storms
southern California โwas battered by a series of powerful storms this week, resulting in widespread โฃflooding, road closures, and hazardous conditions, and contributing too the wettest November on record for manyโ areas. The National weather Service reported an remarkableโค 1.84 inches of rainโ fell in a singleโ hour between 9:30 and 10:30 p.m. โThursdayโ in one location, wiht a gauge in Garden โคGroveโฃ recording 1.5 inches during the same period.
The intense rainfall lead to significant disruptions across multipleโฃ counties.โ In Huntington Beach, a three-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway – between Warner Avenue and seapoint Street, near theโฃ Bolsa Chica โขEcological Reserve – wasโข closed dueโฃ to roadway flooding. Similar flooding โฃimpacted sections of Artesia Boulevard in Redondo โขBeach and a Huntington Beach neighborhood, as reported by KABC-TV channel 7. Residents on Kelton Avenue in Palms were surprised to find their cars immobilized by thigh-high floodwaters in parking garages, according to the same report.
Santa Barbara experienced floodwaters surging above curb level along State and Anacapa streets thursday night, with several cars stalled in the water. overnight in โLong Beach, interchangeโข ramps connecting the 710 โคand 91 freeways were forced to close dueโข to flooding, โคand police observed vehicles โbecoming โstuck โat the intersection of La Cienega Boulevard and Slauson Avenue.
Ventura County faced challenges from debris,โ with three-foot-long boulders blocking lanes alongโ Highway 150, a key route connecting Ojai to Santa Barbaraโข County. A mudslide blocked one lane on โthe Palos Verdes Peninsula, and a โrockslide was reported on a canyonโข road north of Sunland. โขThe storms alsoโค causedโ structural damage; a 60-foot pine tree fell onto a home in La Habra Heights, and a tree crashed into a vehicle on Olympicโ Boulevard in Westlake, though the driver escaped uninjured, as reported by KTLA-TV Channel โค5.
Further disruptions occurred before dawn Friday, with flooding and a rockslide impactingโฃ Highway 330 north of Highland, leading to the San Bernardino Mountains. In Irvine, all lanes โขof the southbound Highway 133 offramp to Irvine Boulevard โwere flooded, with severalโข vehicles potentially stranded,โข while rainfall โin the area was occurring at a rate of approximately half an โinch per hour.
Mountain areas were particularly hardโ hit.A dozen vehicles โขwere trapped in the snow along Highway 18 at Bear Valley Dam in Big Bear Lake, โauthorities โขreported.
Following the main storm’s passage midday Friday, forecasters warned of a “semi-wet โSanta โAna event” across parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties – a rare occurrence where Santa Ana winds, typically dry and associated with wildfires,โค would bring rain instead.
Looking ahead,Los Angeles โคCounty has a 10% to 20% chanceโ of rain Saturday morning. Orange County, San Diego County, and the Inland Empire may experienceโ continued light to moderate showers, with potential “wrap-around precipitation” from the south and east.
A winter storm warning remains in effect โคfor the San Bernardino County and โขRiversideโข County mountains through Saturday morning for elevations above 6,500 feet, including Big Bear. Heavy, wet snow isโ expected, with anticipated accumulations of 4 to 8 inches โคbetween 6,000 and 7,000 feet, 7โฃ to 11 inches between 7,000 and 7,500 feet, and 12 to 16 inches above 7,500 feet. Big Bear Lake itself sits at an elevation of 6,752 feet.
