How Many Inches Of Rain Fell In Dana Point During Three-Day Storm?

DANA POINT, CA — Heavy rain storms from California’s 12th atmospheric river since December pummeled Orange County this week, causing chaos on roadways and straining utility systems.

Dana Point saw nearly nonstop rain throughout the week as spring was ushered in, making way for drier skies ahead according to the National Weather Service.

Over the last three days, Dana Point got a total of 1.41 inches of rain according to Orange County Public Works.

So far this season, Dana Point has gotten a total of ‎‎18.3 inches of precipitation since July 2022, OC Public Works reported.

The rain caused flooding conditions throughout the region, authorities reported.

In Orange County, a stretch of the I-5 Freeway was under roadway repair for much of Tuesday after water bubbling was reported in the road — a sign of potential sinkholes. Several lanes of the freeway were closed for much of Tuesday while Caltrans crews worked to repair the road.

In Dana Point, Pacific Coast Highway was closed in both directions from Palisades to Camino Capistrano, after heavy rains and extensive cleanup efforts to clear the roadway of storm-caused debris closed the popular through street starting Tuesday morning.

This particular stretch of Coast Highway has already seen several closures since the beginning of the year. The closures, authorities say, have been caused by storm-related landslides littering debris across the highway.

The city's public works department will continue to monitor the area in case conditions change.

Most of LA County’s coastline saw between one and two inches of rain over the last three days. The San Fernando Valley saw between two to three inches of rain while downtown LA saw just under two inches.

Cogswell Dam in the San Gabriel Mountains logged the most amount of rainfall in the last three days according to NWS with 5.55 inches fallen.

This recent storm brought a variety of dramatic weather conditions throughout the county, including a tornado in Montebello that damaged 17 buildings and injured one person.

L.A. roadways experienced heavy flooding during the downpour, with travelers in U.S. Route 101 south in Boyle Heights wading in three feet of water over three lanes as a water main break paired with the heavy rainfall. Additionally, a mudslide on Interstate 5 shut down the connector to State Route 110 south as crews worked to clear the road.

Many cities in the county experienced outages, with thousands of customers having been without power as systems were tested. [Insert any local outage coverage you did during the storms].

Following the downpour, Orange County beaches were put under a health advisory as high levels of bacteria are expected for at least 72 hours after significant rainfall.

“Bacteria levels can increase significantly during and after rainstorms, as contaminants within the runoff enters the ocean,” according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. “Elevated bacteria levels in ocean water may cause illness, especially in children and the elderly.”