Storm Arrives but Brings Scant Relief From the Drought

A leaden sky dumped heavy rain over much of water-starved Southern California on Thursday, but the downpour--forecast to continue today--will have virtually no effect on the drought, officials said.

Rain in Southern California is fine for farms and lawns, but the reservoirs supplying most of the area’s water are in the north, they noted.

“Everything depends on what happens in the north,” said Lee Gottlieb, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Water District. “We would need a tremendous amount of consistent rain in order to pull us out of what looks like a severe sixth year of the drought.”

Just to get back to average rainfall levels, California would need “a good storm every weekend for about two months,” said Dick Wagner, a senior analyst in the state Department of Water Resources’ Drought Center.

“The problem is that the storms have been spaced so far apart,” Wagner said. “A good part of the precipitation has been absorbed. The soil has to be saturated down to three, four or five feet before water begins to run off into reservoirs.”

Thursday’s storm rode in on the southern branch of the jet stream, which has split, sending one arm over Canada and the other over California, said Steve Burback, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

The rain claimed at least one victim when a West Los Angeles man was killed after he lost control of his car during the storm and crashed into a tree on Sepulveda Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, police said.

The unidentified man, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown 20 feet from his car when it crashed shortly after noon, investigators said.

In downtown San Diego, a 12-year-old boy was missing late Thursday after he and a friend tried to launch a canoe into a rain-swollen flood control channel and were swept into the current, authorities said.

The storm was also blamed for the collapse of a roof at Glenn Roller Co. in Rosemead. Officials said two employees suffered minor injuries when the roof caved in from the weight of accumulated water shortly after 5 p.m.

By early evening, the storm had dumped more than four inches of rain on the Kern County community of Frazier Park, and floodwaters threatened six homes near Truman Drive and Pine Canyon Road. Firefighters distributed sandbags to residents, and officials said late Thursday that the situation was under control.

Flood warnings were also issued for the city of San Diego, and three inches of rain were forecast for parts of Ventura County overnight Thursday. However, the storm passed through San Diego without flooding, and forestry officials in Ventura County said they welcomed the precipitation.

“The watershed is not saturated yet,” said Earl Clayton, spokesman for the Los Padres National Forest headquarters, adding that heavy rain last fell in early January.

“We don’t anticipate any problems with floods or slides even if we receive three inches of rain,” he said.

A new storm is forecast to arrive from the Pacific today, with rainfall diminishing by evening, Burback said. Saturday will be “a pretty nice day,” with partly sunny skies and high temperatures in the 60s, he said. But that will only be a “little pause before the next storm due on Sunday,” he added.

Sunday’s downpour should be as strong as Thursday’s, he said. As of 4:30 p.m., Los Angeles International Airport had recorded 0.65 of an inch over the previous 24 hours.

More than half an inch of rain had fallen at the Los Angeles Civic Center by 4:30 p.m., and Woodland Hills and Torrance recorded more than an inch.

Times staff writer Nieson Himmel in Los Angeles and correspondent Patrick McCartney in Ventura contributed to this story.