Long Beach, CA – March 21: Commuters brave windy and wet weather during this storm in Long Beach on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. (Photo by Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images)
What to Know
- Downtown LA's total monthly rainfall for March is 6.23 inches.
- A flood watch was issued for much of Southern California as the rain increased the risk for flooding.
- The storm arrived Tuesday with the heaviest rain falling during the day into the evening fueled by a cold air system.
In the first three months of the year, LA has been hit by some massive winter storms bringing heavy rainfall that has shattered previous total records.
The storm made its mark in multiple waves that allowed for some pockets of dry weather, but then picked up and continued with heavy downpour.
The recent cold air storm differed from the warm atmospheric river storms the region has seen by bringing some gusty winds.
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"We've had so much rain that we even broken broke daily rainfall records," said NBC4 forecaster Belen de Leon.
The storm arrived Tuesday morning and the heaviest rain fell throughout the day into the evening. The rain is expected to clear out by the end of Wednesday and some sunshine is in the future forecast.
The Los Angeles International Airport saw 1.01 inches of rain on Tuesday which broke the previous record of 1958 which was .73 inches. The Long Beach Airport also saw some record breaking daily rainfall. It saw 1.53 inches of rain and the previous record was .82 inches in 1983.
January and February have nearly doubled the monthly normal rainfall totals in downtown LA. This year's rainfall measured for January was 8.95 inches and the monthly normal was 3.29 inches. In February, the rainfall measured was 5.95 inches and the monthly normal was 3.64 inches.
Los Angeles Area Storm Rainfall Totals
The two-day rainfall totals (inches) were updated Wednesday at 4 a.m. Information on more locations around LA can be found here.
- Bel Air: 1.77
- Downtown LA: 1.72
- Long Beach: 1.65
- Beverly Hills: 1.49
- Hollywood Reservoir: 1.43
- Culver City: 1.38
- Santa Monica: 1.28
- Hawthorne: 1.18
- LAX Airport: 1.14
- La Cañada Flintridge: 2.08
- Woodland Hills: 1.98
- Agoura Hills: 1.75
- Calabasas: 1.70
- Northridge: 1.64
- Van Nuys: 1.62
- Canoga Park: 1.46
- Burbank: 1.29
- Castaic: 1.70
LA Rainfall Records for March 21
Note: Previous record and year are in parentheses.
- Long Beach Airport: 1.53 (.82, 1983)
- Downtown LA: 1.43 (1.34, 1893)
- Burbank Airport: 1.14 (1.13, 1992)
- LAX Airport: 1.01 (.73, 1958)
- Lancaster Airport: .67 (.62, 1995)
More records may be updated Thursday as more rainfall is expected through Wednesday with the possibility of some thunderstorms.
