Rains Soak Southland, With More Storms Due Next Week

Light rain and snow fell across Southern California on Thursday, and forecasters said the dank, blustery weather could continue for a week, with more showers possible Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The National Weather Service said Orange County rainfall ranged from 0.52 of an inch in Newport Beach to 0.12 of an inch in Fullerton. In downtown Los Angeles, 0.2 of an inch had fallen by nightfall Thursday.

That raised the total amount of rainfall for the year, which runs from July 1 through June 30, to 10.37 inches, 0.3 of an inch less than normal for the date.

Other daily rainfall figures Thursday included 0.46 of an inch in Torrance, 0.34 in Redondo Beach, 0.3 in Monrovia, 0.26 in Oxnard, 0.24 in Altadena, 0.17 in Thousand Oaks and 0.06 in Simi Valley.

Other Orange County figures included 0.36 of an inch at John Wayne Airport, 0.34 in Laguna Beach and 0.28 in Santa Ana.

“We had a little more rain than expected,� said Miguel Miller, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego.

Temperatures in the coastal valleys ranged mostly from the low 40s to the upper 50s, about 5 degrees cooler than normal for this time in February.

Two to three inches of snow fell at ski resorts in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains, adding to amounts of up to a foot that fell earlier in the week.

Light snow dusted Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass and Interstate 5 in the Tejon Pass, but the California Highway Patrol said it melted quickly and there were no serious traffic problems.

Breezy, partly cloudy weather is expected to prevail in Los Angeles and Orange counties through Monday, with increasing cloudiness and rain and snow later in the week.