THE last in a powerful series of storms from tropical El Niño hit the California coast this week, stirring heavy waves that flooded some low-lying streets and crept toward ocean-front homes in Malibu.
The high surf was forecast to bring 15- to 20-foot waves, with some up to 25 feet, to the central California coast, while Ventura County was lashed with waves of 10 to 14 feet, with forecasts of up to 16 feet expected to hit Los Angeles County, said Emily Thornton, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, told NBC News.
Scattered thundershowers were reported across inland areas. The strongest storm hit much of the Southwest, stopping cable cars in San Francisco, flooding roadways and stranding motorists across Los Angeles, and dumping heavy snow in northern Arizona, reported The Associated Press.
Over 2 inches of rain fell Wednesday on some mountain areas, including 3.5 inches in Angeles National Forest. Heavy, cold storms dropped a foot of snow on ski resorts in San Bernardino County and around Lake Tahoe, and caused dozens of crashes on slippery roads in Nevada.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for much of northern Arizona through midday Friday, Jan. 8.
Forecasters predicted significantly less rain for the rest of the week, but warned that flash floods were still possible before skies finally cleared. In California, high surf warnings remained in effect for Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and San Diego counties until Friday.
According to the National Weather Service, storms brought 1.42 inches of rain to Los Angeles International Airport, breaking the record set in 1979.
Despite the problems, the wet weather in California was welcome news for the state suffering from a severe drought. Officials, however, warned residents against abandoning conservation efforts and reverting to wasteful water-use habits.
This year’s El Niño—a natural warming of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean that interacts with the atmosphere and changes weather worldwide—is tied with the strongest storms on record, in 1997-1998. Those systems brought record rainfall in California and Peru, heat waves in Australia and fires in Indonesia.
“What we have seen this year so far has not been what you would call the classic weather pattern with a strong El Niño,” said Dale Eck, director of the Global Forecast Center at the Weather Channel.
“They’re not getting 10 to 15 inches of rain,” Eck said, comparing this year’s tropical storm to the 1997 and 1998 El Niños. “We’re now seeing a series of storms that are dumping 1 to 3 inches in California.”
As the wet winter storms continue building up the snow in the Sierra and San Gabriel mountains, the higher level of rain could spell good news for drought-afflicted California, Eck added.
“What’s more important than the rain falling in Los Angeles and San Francisco is the snow pack building up in the Sierras,” he said. “They are adding feet of snow.”
