California Rainfall Nears December Record

Multiple Storms Hit SoCal: More than 150mm of Rain Soaks L.A.

Up to 6 inches of rain has soaked Los Angeles since the storms began on December 16

Nearby mountains have reportedly received up to 13 inches of rain.  The record for December rainfall in LA is 222.7mm (8.77) inches, NASA said.

Rainfall amounts over the state of California from December 18 to 20, 2010.  “This image is based on data from the Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA), produced at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The MPA estimates rainfall by combining measurements from many satellites and calibrating them using rainfall measurements from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite.”  Southern California has experienced unusual weather this year, “where the spring and summer were cooler than usual, Santa Ana winds were calmer (making for a light fire season), and a one-day temperature record was set in September (117 degrees Fahrenheit). Extensive research suggests weather patterns become more volatile and extremes become more common as global temperatures warm,” according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Source: NASA-EO.  Click image to enlarge.

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State of Emergency Declared

“Residences in La Canada Flintridge and 85 residences in La Crescenta [would be evacuated] due to the possibility of debris flows resulting from forecasted rain storms in the area.” L.A. County official reported.

• California. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has  declared a state of emergency in several California counties [Kern, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo and Tulare] in the wake of the powerful storms that have caused flooding, mudslides and evacuations.
• Utah, USA. “The Mayor of St. George, Utah, has declared a state of emergency in the area due to heavy rain and runoff causing the Virgin River and Santa Clara Rivers to flood,” a report said.
• Nevada, USA. “Southern Nevada is in a state of emergency after rain-swollen creeks closed some roads in the Las Vegas area and a thick blanket of snow disrupted electricity to about 300 customers on nearby Mount Charleston,” a report said.

The ensuing floods and mudslides will wreak havoc across much of Southern California.

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