El Niño bring rain and flooding to Southern California

As everyone has experienced today, the Los Angeles area is getting rain — lots of it, thanks to El Niño. Early this morning the Dodgers tweeted a photo of a flooded Dodger Stadium, with the message: “Rain at the Ravine.”

The rain stopped in most areas of Los Angeles in the early afternoon and it is expected stay clear tonight. The sun even came out of little bit this afternoon too. But starting tomorrow we will be getting rainfall day through Thursday, and then again on the weekend.

So far today Downtown Los Angeles has recorded 1.61 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. LAX recorded 1.42 inches and Santa Barbara 1.71 inches. There has been flooding in the area, check with the NWS for details of flash flooding in the area.

Although the forecast for tonight says  we shouldn’t see any rain, the NWS does warn of a slight chance of showers, so be prepared.

In San Diego it rained most of the day, causing flooding in different parts of the city and surrounding areas. Montgomery Field airport reported a total of 2.79 inches of rain, with most totals around the city below two inches. Fashion Valley, which is part of Mission Valley, reported 2.13 inches of rain, which caused the San Diego River to flood the mall parking lots on the river.

San Diego can expect rain to continue tonight and through to the weekend.

Orange County has the same: lots and lots of rain. San Juan Capistrano is reporting 1.65 inches, Lake Forest and Laguna Beach 1.3 inches.

Southern California should expect rain for the remainder of the week and then a return sometime around January 12-13. Flash flooding and high wind warnings remain in effect in the entire area and the coast has a high surf advisory for the rest of the week. NWS has said waves could be as high as ten feet at some beaches.

•••• •••• ••••• •••• ••••

UPDATE: The L.A. Times and KTLA.com are reporting mudslides and road closures in the Silverado Canyon area, which was heavily burned in a 2014 fire. Voluntary evacuations are in effect, but they could become mandatory if the situation worsens.

Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti said they were moving the homeless out of areas that could become flooded. They fear the Los Angeles River will flood. One homeless man was swept away in Buena Park. He was taken a mike down the Brea River, until he was able to get out on his own. He was taken to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

There are thunderstorms in San Diego and a tornado warning on the east side of San Diego County.

•••• •••• ••••• •••• ••••

UPDATE: Parts of Southern California are having a third straight day of rain. As of 6 a.m. Thursday Morning, San Diego and Orange Counties were getting thunder, lightning and heavy rain.

The two counties are expected to get rain throughout the day, increasing the flooding throughout the area. The San Diego River, which runs through Mission Valley in San Diego, has risen over its banks, flooding the parking lots of the shopping malls that line the river, in particular, Fashion Valley. Flooding has also been reported in many other parts of the city.

On Wednesday parts of San Diego County were under a tornado watch. There was a report of a tornado spotted in the Torrey Pines area of La Jolla, but that wasn’t confirmed.

The tornado watches for Torrey Pines and Escondido were lifted Wednesday Evening.

San Diego and Orange County should be prepared for more thunderstorms throughout the day, but a clear day on Friday. The rain will be back throughout Southern California on Saturday and then again next week.

NWS Doppler Radar.

•••• •••• ••••• •••• ••••

UPDATE: We have sunny and partly sunny skies in the Southland today. No rain is forecast for the near future, at least not in the next 15 days.

There was a lot of flooding and damage caused by the winds throughout Southern California, with tornado watches issued in San Diego County Wednesday.

There is still a high surf advisory in effect. From the NWS:

… High surf warning remains in effect until 10 PM PST this evening…
* surf… 5 to 9 feet with local sets to 12 feet this  morning… subsiding to 4 to 7 feet late today.
* Timing… subsiding through this evening.
* Tides… highest tides friday: 7.0 ft at 730 am today.
* Impacts… beach erosion… very strong rip currents… coastal  flooding during high tide… and damage to coastal structures are possible.
Precautionary/preparedness actions …
A high surf warning indicates that dangerous … battering waves will pound the shoreline. This will result in very dangerous swimming conditions … and possible damage to coastal structures.

 

Top photo of Downtown Los Angeles by Claudia Gestro