High wind and surf advisories remain in effect today, in spite of unexpected partly sunny conditions, after Saturday's rain storm dropped just over half an inch on beach communities.
Dry conditions prevailed for the Los Angeles Marathon, which started at dawn today, though volunteers had stocked trash bags and mylar blankets in anticipation of a repeat of last year's very wet run, which hospitalized 20 runners with hypothermia. By 11 a.m., the National Weather Service cancelled its Winter Storm Warnings for the Los Angeles County inland mountains. The NWS said brief and scattered rain showers could still pop up in the afternoon, and the snow level would raise from 2,500 feet at midday to 3,000 feet by the evening.
The NWS weather station at Los Angeles International Airport (the closest station to Hermosa Beach) recorded .54 inches of rain fallen in the previous 24 hours at 4:53 a.m. Other rainfall totals from the last winter storm of the year ranged from an unofficial 1.43 inches near Mount Baldy, .55 inches in the mountains above Malibu, and .45 inches near Acton. The automated rain gauge near downtown Los Angeles reported .60 inches, and stations across the San Fernando Valley reported about a half inch.
The National Weather Service put the chance of afternoon rain at 20 percent. A high surf advisory remains in effect through 3 a.m. Monday, according
to the NWS, which predicted big, wind-driven westerly swells and breakers of 6-
8 feet, possibly up to 10 feet on west-facing beaches. The NWS has also issued a high wind advisory through 10 p.m. for coastal areas, predicting winds out of the west at 15-25 mph, with stronger gusts possible.
The added inch or so of rain brings the season total to about 6.2 inches
since July 1, still well behind the norm of about 12.8 inches by this time of
year. On average, Los Angeles gets about 15 inches of rain per year.
