Here's How Much Rain Fell In SoCal Communities This Weekend

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — The first storm of the year arrived over the weekend, bringing much-needed moisture to bone-dry Southern California, and aiding firefighters in quelling wildfires that were still smoldering in some areas.

However, in Los Angeles, the downpour caused mudslides and debris flows, which triggered a shutdown of the 5 Freeway and school closures in the areas scarred by devastating and deadly fires that sparked earlier this month.

“All these fresh burns are very susceptible to rapid runoff,” said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service's office for Los Angeles.

As showers subsided on Monday, forecasters advised that chilly temperatures were expected for the evening across much of the region.

"A cold air mass will be left behind as the [storm] slowly exits the region," according to the NWS."Temperatures today will be much below normal again with coastal and valley sites struggling to hit the 60-degree mark."

Going into the week, dry and mild weather was expected before a weaker storm arrives possibly next weekend, weather officials said Monday.

The rain comes as the region experienced its driest start to winter on record, meteorologists told Patch. The Southland had gone nearly 10 months without a significant rainstorm, leaving communities bone dry and vulnerable to fires like the wind-driven blazes that have torn through swaths of the Southland in January.

"The last time we even had over a quarter of an inch in downtown Los Angeles was April 14 of 2024," Jayme Laber, a hydrologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told Patch. "Usually by this time, we have a little bit of rain, but man, it has been really dry."

While the storm ended a record-dry period, most of Southern California has fallen back into to drought conditions, with some areas experiencing extreme drought.

Much of the Southland saw around or just under an inch of rain from the storm.

Here's how much rain fell in each county over the past two days, according to the National Weather Service:

Los Angeles County

Downtown LA: 0.54 inches

Los Angeles Airport: 0.94 inches

Sepulveda Canyon: 1.44 inches

Northridge: 1.36 inches

Santa Monica Pier: 1.38 inches

Long Beach Airport: 0.56 inches

Beverly Hills: 1.02 inches

Mount Baldy: 1.16 inches

Orange County

Anaheim Hills: 0.95 inches

Garden Grove: 0.55 inches

Corona Del Mar: 0.79 inches

John Wayne Airport: 0.50 inches

Costa Mesa: 0.67 inches

Laguna Nigel: 0.59 inches

San Juan Capistrano: 0.31 inches

Riverside County

Temecula: 0.79 inches

Beaumont: 0.47 inches

Murrieta Creek At Tenaja: 0.71 inches

Banning Bench (Mountains): 0.19 inches

Palm Springs Airport: 0.09 inches

Prado Dam: 1.04 inches

San Diego County

Oceanside: 1.07 inches

Carlsbad: 0.75 inches

Encinitas: 0.44 inches

Chula Vista: 0.38 inches

Santee: 0.56 inches

Ramona: 0.54 inches

Poway: 0.34 inches

Concerns about post-fire debris flows have been especially high since 2018, when the town of Montecito, up the coast from Los Angeles, was ravaged by mudslides after a downpour hit mountain slopes charred by a huge wildfire. Hundreds of homes were damaged and 23 people died.

Last week, crews in Los Angeles County expedited cleanup efforts and other measures aimed at mitigating the environmental impacts of fire-related pollutants.

Officials cautioned that ash in recent burn zones was a toxic mix of incinerated cars, electronics, batteries, building materials, paints, furniture and other household items. It contains pesticides, asbestos, plastics and lead. Residents were urged to wear protective gear while cleaning up.

While the downpour did cause hazards, firefighters were able to gain progress over steady-smoldering blazes. As of Monday morning, the Palisades Fire was 94% contained, the Eaton Fire was 98% contained, the Hughes Fire was 95% contained and the Border 2 Fire (San Diego County) was 43% contained.

The Palisades and Eaton fires killed at least 27 people and reduced entire communities to rubble as they burned out of control earlier this month.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.