Los Angeles Spring Storm Fells Trees, Floods Streets, Darkens Homes
Update: PCH was reopened, and so was the Grapevine. Record rainfall was recorded around Southern California, with downtown Los Angeles seeing 2.42 inches Sunday compared with 1.48 inches on the date in 1943. See more records after the jump.
MuscleNerd Tree down in L.A.
The first week of spring came in like a lion in L.A. as a rain-triggered small flood advisory covered Tujunga, Sunland, Sierra Madre, Lake View Terrace, La Crescenta, La Canada/Flintridge, Monterey Park, Long Beach, Lancaster, Diamond Bar and even downtown L.A. overnight.
Power outages were reported all over the region, with Southern California Edison and the L.A. Department of Water and Power reporting nearly 100,000 customers without power late Sunday.
Trees were knocked down all over, prompting Weho Daily to call the episode #treepocalypse.
Parts of these L.A. neighborhoods were without power at one point or another: San Pedro, Encino, Hollywood, Van Nuys, Northridge, Marina Del Rey, Panorama City and Venice. We also spotted an outage near Pico and La Cienega boulevards.
Other areas that saw outages included parts of Newport Beach, Inglewood, Long Beach, Compton, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, and San Gabriel.
Road closures included:
-PCH westbound at Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
-Topanga Canyon Boulevard between Mulholland Drive and Pacific Coast Highway was not closed but should be avoided as a result of flooding, authorities said.
-The stretch of 5 freeway known as the Grapevine.
-Streets in the Sepulveda Flood Basin.
-Eastbound lanes of the 105 freeway near LAX.
-The Sepulveda Tunnel near LAX.
-Big Pines Highway at Largo Vista Road in the Angeles National Forest.
Other reported issues:
-Although LAX appeared to be unaffected, Burbank Airport had weather delays.
-Flooding up to car windshields on the 5 freeway near Western Avenue in Glendale.
-Six-to-eight foot surf along the coast.
-In the 4800 block of N. Regalo Road in Woodland Hills a wall of mud forced L.A. city firefighters to evacuate 30 people from 12 homes, the department reported.
The good news was that the National Weather Service expected the storm to wind down by morning.
What happened in your neighborhood?
Added: Other Sunday rainfall records included ...
-1.29 inches at Palmdale Airport, beating 1.2 inches on March 7, 1952.
-2.36 inches at LAX, beating 1.04 inches in 1992. It was the third-wettest March day on record at the airport.
-3.85 inches at Burbank (Bob Hope) Airport versus 1.15 inches in 1973.
-1.48 inches at Lancaster Airport compared to 0.74 inches in 1992.
Other communities saw lots of water but didn't break records:
-Newhall: 7.12 inches.
-Van Nuys: 6.60.
-Northridge: 5.92.
-Chatsworth Reservoir: 5.53.
-Hansen Dam: 5.13
-Canoga Park: 4.72
-Burbank: 4.02.
-Beverly Hills: 4.12.
-Monte Nido: 3.98.
-Getty Center: 3.72.
-UCLA: 3.24.
-Santa Monica: 2.95.
-Culver City: 2.68.
-Redondo Beach: 2.12.
-Hawthorne: 1.86.
-Torrance: 1.84.
-Long Beach: 1.20.
-With reporting from City News Service. Got news? Email us. Follow us on Twitter, too: @dennisjromero.
First posted at 7:02 a.m.
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