L.A. storm delivers significant overnight rainfall
The Southland’s second storm of the week, moving across the area on Friday, has so far delivered on its promise of heavy rainfall.
At Los Angeles International Airport, 0.55 inches of rain fell between 4 p.m. Thursday and 4 a.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service. About the same amount fell in downtown L.A. and Santa Monica.
In Agoura Hills, 0.78 inches fell over the same period, and 0.86 inches fell in Monte Nido, a community near Calabasas. About a third of an inch fell in Redondo Beach, Van Nuys and Eagle Rock, according to the weather service.
Prior to this week’s eather systems, just 1.2 inches of rain had been recorded in the region since July 1, the start of the weather services’ rain-measuring year.
And the heaviest rainfall has yet to come.
The strongest rain was expected later in the morning through Friday afternoon as a cold front makes landfall, producing more unstable weather, said Kathy Hoxsie of the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
Though the soaking is a welcome change after a prolonged dry spell, the heavy runoff could be devastating for communities below recent wildfire burn areas, such as Azusa and Glendora.
Up to 1,000 houses in the area affected by the Colby fire that burned above the hillside cities in January are under a mandatory evacuation order amid fears that mud and debris could inundate their homes.
In January, the wildfire burned 1,900 acres and destroyed five homes and damaged seven others.
In Glendora, residents north of Sierra Madre Avenue between Yucca Ridge Road and Glendora Mountain Road must evacuate. In Azusa, the order applies to residents on Ridge View Drive. Both areas are situated below the Colby fire burn area, which denuded hillsides of rock- and dirt-holding vegetation.
Thousands of sandbags across several foothill cities including Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Glendora and Azusa have been distributed over the last few days. Crews have also been erecting concrete barriers in an effort to direct any mud or debris away from homes.
As of early Friday morning, no mudflows had been reported, officials said.
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