Historical Rainfall floods Southern California
Recent rain storms brought flooding and destruction to Southern California. An atmospheric river that lasted from Feb. 3-7 brought incredible rainfall, in some areas as much as 14 inches in five days, and caused mudslides and evacuations. A second storm began Feb. 19-20. On the 19, two of three southbound lanes closed due to flooding, causing traffic jams. On the 20, two lanes of the 101 in Ventura closed due to flooding, and a mudslide caused closures of a segment of the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica.
Although the recent years’ rain has ended California’s historic drought, it came with problems, as many communities lack the infrastructure to deal with flooding. This led to school closures for the Santa Barbara and Santa Maria school districts. Additionally, mudslides in Sherman Oaks and Studio city left ruined buildings and cars in their wake. The most recent rainstorm brought Ventura 4.36 inches of rain, Thousand Oaks 1.79 inches, and Newbury Park 1.35, all down to land still saturated from previous downpouring.
Climate change has made California’s weather patterns more turbulent and unpredictable, with years of severe drought followed by heavy, record-breaking rainfall. Now that the once-unusual weather patterns are becoming more common, Southern California is defying its year-round sunshine stereotype.
