Weather

Storm Shatters 133-Year-Old Rainfall Record In Los Angeles

By noon, Downtown Los Angeles rain totals had already doubled the record set in 1888.

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A homeless person shields themselves from the rain under a wet cover in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021, in Los Angeles. A powerful storm slid south through California on Tuesday, drenching the drought-stricken state.
A homeless person shields themselves from the rain under a wet cover in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021, in Los Angeles. A powerful storm slid south through California on Tuesday, drenching the drought-stricken state. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

LOS ANGELES, CA — The day was only half over when Tuesday's storm shattered a Downtown Los Angeles rainfall record for the date set in 1888, according to the National Weather Service.

Slippery roads and a ranging LA River attested to the power of the first major storm of the season, which dropped more than 2 inches of rain in Downtown LA by noon. That's more than double the 133-year-old record set in 1888.

A submerged vehicle is wedged against a bridge pillar in the surging Los Angeles River making it difficult for firefighters to access it on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021. The vehicle was spotted in the river before dawn. Rain is drenching Southern California as a powerful storm slides down the state, snarling traffic and raising the threat of mudslides in areas scarred by wildfires. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Elsewhere around the county, the storm was even more intense dropping more than 4.5 inches of rain in Woodland Hill before the storm was over. Other parts of the San Fernando Valley saw about 3 inches of rain by midday.

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Some mountain areas in L.A. County received between 5 and 6 inches of rain before temperatures dropped and the snow began to fall in the afternoon.

More than 2 inches also fell in Beverly Hills and Bel Air

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City News Service contributed to this report.

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