A lingering storm this week soaked the Los Angeles area with as much as 9 inches of rain and broke a half-dozen daily rainfall records in the county on Thursday — including an 85-year-old one in downtown.
More than 2 1/2 inches of rain (2.57 to be exact) was measured in downtown L.A., shattering the old Dec. 30 record of 1.85 from 1936, according to the National Weather Service.
Los Angeles International Airport received 3.12 inches over the 24-hour period, more than doubling the old Dec. 30 record of 1 1/2 inches set in 1981.
Further south down the 405 Freeway, Long Beach Airport was drenched with 2.07 inches, which was also more than twice the previous record rainfall amount for the day. The total bested the previous high of 0.98 from 40 years ago.
In the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood Burbank Airport recorded 1.96 inches of precipitation — over an inch more than the previous highest amount for the day. The total daily rainfall broke the 70-year-old record of 0.84 inches
Two daily rain records fell in the Antelope Valley: In Lancaster, 1.17 inches was recorded at General William J. Fox Airfield, obliterating the old Dec. 30 record of 0.41 inches from 1951; and in Palmdale, the local airport got 0.85 inches of rain, which beats the 70-year-old daily record of 0.38.
The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office also handles Ventura County, and two Dec. 30 rain records were broken there on Thursday.
Camarillo saw 1.89 inches of rain, besting the previous high for the day of 1.29 inches. Meanwhile, NWS’s office in Oxnard recorded 2.10 inches of rain, which broke the previous record — also 1.29 inches. The old records for both areas stood for 70 years.
Many areas in Los Angeles County received multiple inches of precipitation over a period of three days from the storm system.
The highest multi-day total in the county was at Cogswell Dam in the San Gabriel Mountains, where a little more than 9 inches fell, according to weather service data. Woodland Hills, meanwhile, received an impressive 7.37 inches of rain.
Several other areas recorded totals of 4 to 6 inches from the storm before clear skies returned to the area once again on Friday morning.