While the second round of rainfall in Santa Monica Monday was a far cry from Sunday’s portion of the storm, the continued drenching tacked on to the mammoth precipitation totals in the area.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS) observation station at Santa Monica Municipal Airport, an extra 1.05 inches of rain fell between Monday and Tuesday morning, making for a total 48-hour storm total of 6.79 inches. The historic total was such that in 48 hours, the city received more rain than all of April 2023 through January, per historical weather database Weather Underground (6.29 inches). February’s deluge has pushed Santa Monica’s 2024 rainfall to 30% above normal annual levels already, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Tuesday saw much lighter precipitation, with most areas in Los Angeles (including Santa Monica) kept under 0.25 inches of rainfall. The NWS forecast for the area states that periods of moderate to heavy rain are still possible later Wednesday afternoon and evening, along with gusty west to northwest winds which will continue into Thursday. Wind gusts calmed down in Santa Monica throughout the latter part of Monday into Tuesday, after peaking at 21 mph between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Monday.
Both a Flood Advisory and a Flood Watch issued by the NWS for Santa Monica expired at 4 p.m. Tuesday, with the city all clear of NWS hazardous weather condition alerts. The city was under a flood advisory during the peak of the storm on Sunday.
City Public Works employees continued to monitor conditions Monday after responding to a closure of the California Incline, working to remove debris from the roadway. City officials did not note any major incidents beyond the Incline closure, but reminded residents on social media to "please be mindful" of local baseball and soccer field conditions during the storm, asking locals to avoid using fields until they are dry "to help maintain their integrity for the upcoming spring [sports] season."
Santa Monica schools within the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District remained open on Tuesday, however Malibu schools within the district stayed closed for the second consecutive day. Initial determinations were that Malibu schools would be open on Tuesday, but after "further review of conditions in and around the Malibu community," the district reversed course and closed. In between the two announcements, some Malibu staff arrived on campuses, with Malibu Pathway Executive Director Isaac Burgess stating Tuesday morning that "if your student has already arrived … they are being supervised at this time."
"Our campus facilities are in good condition and we expect that to continue," Burgess added in an earlier statement to parents. "We appreciate the work of our maintenance teams to provide a safe school environment."
Malibu has received a perilous amount of rainfall from the storm, with 48-hour totals ranging from 5.05 inches at a Pepperdine University NWS station, to a staggering 9.30 inches at Malibu Canyon. Other local 48-hour totals from Sunday morning through Tuesday morning include 6.83 inches in Venice and 7.30 inches in Pacific Palisades.
Travel throughout the Los Angeles area was severely hampered throughout the storm, including drivers having to deal with precarious mudslides and debris flows. According to a NBC 4 Los Angeles report, the Los Angeles Fire Department dealt with more than 300 mudslides throughout the storm. Air travel was not exempt, with flight tracking service FlightAware recording a total of 1,203 delays of departing and arriving flights at Los Angeles International Airport between Sunday and Monday, along with 63 cancellations.
Regional, state and national leaders continue to assess the situation throughout the Los Angeles metro, as the two-day rain total for Downtown Los Angeles was the third-highest total for two consecutive days in the area since 1877, when rain totals began being recorded. After Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a local state of emergency Monday morning, Gov. Gavin Newsom followed suit by declaring a state of emergency for most of coastal Southern California. On Monday, President Joe Biden also promised to provide federal assistance in storm management.
