Latest Atmospheric River Drenches Venice: How Many Inches Fell?

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

Venice 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, Venice got a total of 1.61 inches of rain according to LA Public Works.

So far this season, Venice has gotten a total of 24.12 inches of precipitation beginning on Oct. 1 according to Public Works.

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. On Tuesday, more than 3,500 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers in Venice lost power during the torrential downpour.

Following the downpour, Los Angeles 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 LA County Department of Public Health. “Elevated bacteria levels in ocean water may cause illness, especially in children and the elderly.”