Storm drops record-breaking rain in parts of California
LOS ANGELES — A strong Pacific storm dropped record-breaking rain Wednesday on a swath of California evacuated by thousands of people over threats of debris flows and mudslides from wildfire burn areas.
The storm came ashore on the central coast and spread south into the Los Angeles region and north through San Francisco Bay, fed by a long plume of subtropical moisture called an atmospheric river.
It also moved eastward, bringing the threat of flooding to the San Joaquin Valley and Sierra Nevada, where winter storm warnings for new snow were in effect on the second day of spring.
Record rainfall was recorded in five spots including Santa Barbara, Palmdale and Oxnard, where nearly 1.8 inches of rain had fallen by Wednesday evening. That’s compared to the record of 1.3 inches set in 1937.