Downpour Drenches Southland : Rain: Continuing storms cause mudslides, and a tornado in Irvine. It’s the most some areas have gotten in five years.

After months of unrelenting dryness, a major storm slashed Southern California for a second day Thursday, bringing heavy downpours, mudslides, and a tornado that touched down in Irvine, damaging about 50 condominiums and several mobile homes, but causing no injuries.

It was believed to be the first time a tornado had touched ground in the region in at least four years.

The rainfall at the Los Angeles Civic Center was 2.44 inches during the 24-hour period that ended at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, and the storm system was expected to continue pelting the city Thursday night and today.

The record rainfall for a similar period was 2.85 inches recorded Feb. 28, 1938.

Up to two more inches could fall in some coastal areas before what was described as a wave of storms ends early next week, said Steve Burback, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

“It’s going to be pretty much continuous,” Burback said. “I don’t see any real clearing, or dry period, until Tuesday.”

The rain caused a 2-million-gallon overflow of partially treated sewage in Ballona Creek, which empties into the Pacific at Marina del Rey. It was the first such overflow since January of last year--and forced the closure of beaches all along the Los Angeles coastline.

City officials estimated that up to 15 billion gallons of polluted water from sewers and storm drains had entered Santa Monica Bay, an unusually large amount even in a heavy downpour. They attributed the figure to the long dry spell, which caused storm drains to fill with toxic chemicals and organic pollutants.

With WeatherData estimating the chance of rain in most coastal areas at 50% today and Saturday, climbing to 60% to 70% by Sunday, further overflows seem likely.

Though the rain was not enough to signal an end to the state’s five-year drought, meteorologists saw good news in the lifting of a high-pressure area that had settled over much of the state, blocking the arrival of the usual winter storms.

By Thursday morning, the current storm had brought more rain to portions of Orange and Ventura counties than at any time since the drought began.

Anaheim reported 2.8 inches and the Santa Ana River was running 1 foot deep, bank to bank, the highest it has been in five years, officials said.

Mudslides closed roads through Carbon Canyon and Silverado Canyon. At 5,687-foot Santiago Peak, the county’s highest mountaintop, 4.65 inches was recorded.

In Ventura County, 5 to 8 inches fell in the mountains north of Ojai, with 2 to 4 inches recorded in most other areas. The single day of rain was the county’s heaviest since Feb. 14, 1986, when 2.84 inches fell in Ventura, officials said.

At Laguna Mountain in San Diego, 5.2 inches of rain were reported.

By late Thursday afternoon the storm, which began late Wednesday morning, had dropped 3.11 inches at the Civic Center, bringing the season’s total to 4.49 inches. Normal would be 11.07 inches.

In the Los Angeles area, during the 24-hour period that ended at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Pasadena had 4.5 inches; Northridge, 4.13; Monrovia, 3.57; Long Beach, 2.26; Culver City, 2.00, and Santa Monica, 1.87.

Early Thursday afternoon, Irvine residents were startled when a tornado descended from a roiling black sky and dipped into their quiet neighborhood east of Irvine Valley Community College.

The wind storm ripped off shake and tile shingles and broke windows in 45 to 50 condominiums as well as in several mobile homes at a nearby trailer park.

The freak twister struck at 12:45 p.m. and caused heavy damage to 15 or 20 of the structures, Irvine Police Lt. Vic Thies said. There were no injuries. No damage estimates were immediately available.

“It was kind of a mini Wizard of Oz,” Thies said. “But we rescued all the Totos.”

The last reported twister in Southern California was in 1987, when a fierce storm damaged about five mobile homes in east Lancaster. But on that occasion, there was some disagreement among meteorologists as to whether the violent winds were actually a tornado. This time there appeared to be no doubt.

One stunned resident, Gary Hicks, after hearing noise, opened his bathroom window to look outside.

“I could see up into the funnel,” he said. “I could see the debris.”

The swirling winds were sucking up and spitting out fences, roof shingles and tiles, patio furniture and even car parts. Hicks said he slammed his window shut, but continued to watch as the tornado moved away, touching down again and moving off into nearby orange groves.

Hicks’ neighbor Stephanie Leggee said she was standing in front of her living room window when she heard the deep rumbling of the approaching tornado.

“I saw a large funnel cloud with a board spinning around in it,” Leggee said.

Although it missed her house, it spun her car completely around, and “sucked up the hood” as if she were about to check the oil.

“It happened so fast,” she said with wonder.

To the north, a tornado touched down around 4:15 p.m. Thursday near Goshen in Tulare County, reportedly causing minor injuries and damage. Elsewhere, the roof of a Pic ‘N’ Save store in Granada Hills gave way under accumulated rain Wednesday night, sending employees scrambling for cover from water that gushed in through a 20-by-20-foot hole, District Manager Todd Breske said.

“It looks like Saddam Hussein launched a Scud missile,” Breske said as repairs began Thursday.

No one was injured in the incident, which occurred about an hour after closing time. Breske said the discount store would remain closed until Saturday for repairs and cleanup, mainly of wet clothing and the flooded floor.

At Pierce College in Woodland Hills--whose building-maintenance program has suffered under the state budget crunch--roofs leaked in a dean’s office, the women’s gym, the admissions office, and the Special Services Department, which serves about 500 disabled students, school officials said.

It was a soggy day throughout the state.

Rainfall totals were between 1 and 2 inches at most cities from Santa Rosa south to Santa Maria, the National Weather Service said.

Farther inland, in the Central Valley, most spots had around a half inch, but only about a 10th of an inch had fallen on Bakersfield.

So far, snowfall amounts in the Sierra have not been very heavy, with reported totals of seven inches or less, but forecasters said more rain and snow are on the way with the new storms.

Heavy snow was reported in the Southland mountains as low as 5,500 feet. The Big Bear area in the San Bernardino Mountains had more than six inches on the ground. Similar amounts were reported in the San Gabriels with more expected from the new storm.

In San Diego, the storm ripped a roof of the new San Diego Convention Center, cut off power to more than 39,000 homes, sent rocks sliding onto highways, rained hail in some areas and spawned a water spout over the ocean.

Times staff writers Tina Anima, G. Jeanette Avent, Leslie Berger, Bettina Boxall, Christopher Pummer, David Reyes and Bob Schwartz contributed to this story.

LEAKY SITUATION: Reconstruction of an Encino apartment complex roof left tenants soaked. B3

THE RAIN

24-hour total (as of 4:30 p.m.): 2.44 in.

Storm total: 3.16 in.

Monthly total: 3.16 in.

Total for season: 4.54 in.

Last season to date: 5.43 in.

Normal season to date: 11.07 in.

Figures, based on 7 p.m. Thursday readings at the Los Angeles Civic Center, were compiled by the National Weather Service.