By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief
Ahead of the official start of winter, two storms brought rain to Pacific Palisades—boosting the yearly rainfall total to date, but leaving it below average.
“Last week’s rainstorm ended with the Palisades receiving 1.55 inches of rain,” Craig Weston, who tracks weather in the Palisades, reported on Monday, December 20. “This takes our December rainfall total to 1.62 inches and our yearly rainfall total to 2.58 inches.”
Most of the rain fell by Tuesday, December 14, before a smaller, weaker storm moved into the area on Thursday, December 16. By Tuesday at 3 p.m., 1.42 inches of rain had fallen in the Palisades.
The yearly rainfall total is measured from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022.
“Our rainfall amounts are running a little over one inch below average for this time of year,” Weston added, “however, more rain is expected over the coming days.”
As the Palisadian-Post went to print on Tuesday, an 90% chance of rain was predicted for Thursday, December 23, with a high of 52 degrees and a low of 48. Rain was also in the forecast for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, with a 70% chance on Friday, December 24, and 50% chance on Saturday, December 25.
The high for Christmas Eve was predicted to be 54, with a low of 47, and a high of 49 on Christmas Day, with a low of 42.
In addition to rain, last week’s storm brought wind gusts that reached 25 miles per hour in the Palisades.
A flash flood watch was in effect for most of the day in recent burn areas throughout LA County, including where the Palisades fire burned in May. The flood watch expired at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
In other parts of Southern California, including Orange County, there were flooded roadways, dangerous driving conditions and some evacuations in place due to mud and debris flow.
By Tuesday afternoon, the record for the most rain fallen in downtown LA had doubled to more than two inches, according to the National Weather Service, topping the 1888 record.
The largest rainfall the Palisades has received in recent times occurred in December 2019 which was 5.4 inches, according to Weston. On average, Los Angeles receives approximately 2.6 inches of rain in the month of December.
A beach water use advisory remained in effect for all LA County beaches until Monday, December 20, at 8 a.m. due to the recent rainfall. LA County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis cautioned residents that bacteria, chemicals, debris, trash and other public health hazards from city streets and mountain areas were likely to contaminate ocean waters at and around discharging storm drains, creeks and rivers, warning that individuals who enter the water in these areas could become ill.
Last year’s rainfall total in Pacific Palisades, measured from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, was tallied at 4.47 inches, according to Weston, falling “far below the average yearly rainfall of 14.93 inches.”
“For all of 2021, the Palisades saw its highest temperature of 92 degrees recorded on January 15 and its lowest temperature of 37 degrees recorded on January 26,” Weston said when looking back at this calendar year. “In recent years, the Palisades’ lowest temperature was seen in January of 2015 when it got down to a chilly 36 degrees.”
City News Service contributed to this report.
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