Santa Monica Drenched During Historical Storm: How Many Inches Fell?

SANTA MONICA, CA — The first tropical storm to hit the county since 1939 pummeled Los Angeles over the weekend, breaking rainfall total records and straining utility systems.

Santa Monica saw nearly nonstop rain over the weekend as Tropical Storm Hilary moved into Southern California, making way for drier skies ahead according to the National Weather Service.

Over the last three days, Santa Monica got a total of 3.56 inches of rain according to NWS. The Santa Monica Mountains also saw significant rainfall with 5.08 inches of rain recorded at Stunt Ranch and 4.91 inches of rain recorded at the Sepulveda Canyon.

Most of LA County’s coastline saw between two and four inches of rain over the last three days. The San Fernando Valley saw between three to four inches of rain while downtown LA saw just under three inches.

Mount Wilson in the San Gabriel Mountains logged the most amount of rainfall in the last three days according to NWS with 8.56 inches fallen.

NWS reported that virtually all daily rainfall records were broken on Sunday. Even before the day concluded, NWS officials said August rainfall records were set in Los Angeles and Long Beach.

This recent storm brought a variety of dramatic weather conditions throughout the county, including a magnitude 5.1 earthquake that rattled much of LA. Residents of Catalina Island were also advised to evacuate as a precaution and were provided shelter in Long Beach, according to the city's Mayor Rex Richardson.

Many cities in the county experienced outages, with thousands of customers having been without power as systems were tested.

Following the downpour, Los Angeles County beaches were put under a health advisory as high levels of bacteria are expected for at least 72 hours after significant rainfall.

“Bacteria levels can increase significantly during and after rainstorms, as contaminants within the runoff enters the ocean,” according to the LA County Department of Public Health. “Elevated bacteria levels in ocean water may cause illness, especially in children and the elderly.”