Downpour in Los Angeles

It's a rarity to have rain in Southern California. Living in Los Angeles for the majority of my life, I can say it's almost exciting when there's a big storm. However, with storm systems comes damage.

About five years ago, a similar storm occurred in Santa Clarita. We had just moved into a new house and installed new flooring throughout. Low and behold, when the storm hit, we learned that the French doors were not sealed properly. Water came in and soaked a good portion of the flooring. The new flooring had to be removed and replaced. It cost thousands of dollars.

This time, however, we were prepared. The doors were resealed and gutters were installed. A few days ago, my husband cleared debris and dirt from the gutters. It was a good thing too. By late Sunday afternoon, it was raining steadily. Water spewed from the bottom of the gutter ramp. Thrashing trees from side to side, the wind picked up. Luckily, it only knocked down a few branches and displaced my daughter's plastic pool. For awhile, we were nervous as the water levels rose on the porch and made thick puddles on the edges of our backyard turf. Would it ever stop?

The next day, Tuesday, it was calm in the morning. Due to the fact the weather forecast said the rain would probably not start until 11:00 a.m., I went out to run errands. I avoided the freeways because the wind in the Newhall Pass can be quite strong and flip over cars. Yet, by the time I had finished errand number one, it had started drizzling. Sure enough, the downpour started as I ran to the car, sans umbrella. Halfway home I saw lightening dash through the sky and soon heard thunder.

Despite a few trees lying across the road, this rain has not caused too much damage in Santa Clarita. There were accidents, a few flooded roads and several fallen trees. Five years ago, many of the mobile home parks were flooded. In fact, I remember some of my students not making it to school. Furthermore, some were coming to school in the same clothes for several days because their homes were ruined. I certainly hope this does not happen this time around.

However, there are still several more days of rainy weather to come. According to the forecast, the wind may return and there might even be some hail. Kids out here love hail because it's the closest thing they get to snow. Hopefully, there won't be any tornados. It sounds funny to think of a tornado in Los Angeles. However, it has happened before. I call them mini-tornados because they only touch down for a moment. We'll just have to see what happens tomorrow.

Source:

http://www.weather.com/weather/today/USCA1019?lswe=Santa%20Clarita,%20CA,%20United%20States&from=searchbox_typeahead