Storm Pulls Its Punches : Weather: Emergency crews stand by, but system fails to produce major flooding. Steady rain will continue today, and potential for heavy precipitation remains.

Rain from a dual storm system fell steadily in Southern California on Wednesday, snarling traffic and causing minor flooding, but an anticipated deluge failed to materialize by nightfall and damage was minor.

Emergency crews stood by throughout the day and the National Weather Service issued a series of flood warnings. But streams stayed within their banks, mudslides were small and most roadways remained open, although commuter traffic was jammed during the morning and evening rush hours.

Officials said 1.38 inches of rain had fallen at the Los Angeles Civic Center between 4 p.m. Tuesday and 4 p.m. Wednesday, raising the season’s total to 7.22 inches, well above the normal figure for the date of 5.4 inches.

Rick Dittmann, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., said rain and thundershowers should continue today, with additional rain over the weekend after a brief hiatus Friday. He said that with more warm, moist air moving eastward across the Pacific toward Southern California, the potential for heavy rain, and possible flooding, could continue for another week.

Swift-water rescue teams were on alert across the region Wednesday under a new county and city emergency-response program adopted in the wake of the drowning last year of a Woodland Hills teen-ager in the Los Angeles River.

The biggest excitement came early in the day Wednesday, when city and county firefighters and lifeguards were dispatched to the Griffith Park area after a bus traveler spotted what he thought was a person in the river’s fast-moving waters. The floating object turned out to be a plastic bag.

At a city fire station near the Sepulveda Basin--which flooded during the heavy rains last year, trapping dozens of motorists--six lifeguards equipped with inflatable rubber boats were on standby.

Roads in the Sepulveda Basin were open as of nightfall Wednesday. Jim Myrtetus, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, which operates Sepulveda Dam, said that dam waters remained several feet below the level at which the corps would notify other agencies of flood danger.

Three county Fire Department helicopter units surveyed the region all day. Stations in Santa Clarita, the Antelope Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, Malibu and Lakewood had specially trained rescue teams on hand.

In Malibu, where weather forecasters had anticipated the greatest problems, even vulnerable Las Flores Canyon escaped flooding. Water was low in the canyon’s creek, which overflowed during last season’s rainstorm, sending a torrent down the canyon.

Canyon residents were prepared for the worst by Wednesday, having erected sand-bag barriers to deflect high water in the event of flooding.

Phil Campanella recalled standing last year in swirling, chest-high water as he tried to keep the drains from clogging.

“It’s part of Malibu,” he said.

Campanella, owner of the bait-and-tackle shop at the tip of the Malibu Pier, said he summoned county lifeguards, paramedics and sheriff’s deputies after a woman dived off the 25-foot high pier into 57-degree water Wednesday.

The woman, identified by sheriff’s deputies as Peggy Diane Hill, 51, jumped off the pier twice, swimming ashore without assistance. She told would-be rescuers that “she thought it was fun,” said county lifeguard Lt. Mike Cunningham, from the Zuma Beach station.

The woman, whom sheriff’s deputies described as homeless, was taken into custody on outstanding Santa Monica warrants. Diving off a pier is a misdemeanor, but it was not known whether she was charged.

California Highway Patrol officer Esmeralda Leos said that commuter traffic in Los Angeles County was heavy and slow-moving during the morning and evening rush hours. Rain made the pavement slippery, and numerous delays were caused by traffic accidents, disabled vehicles and minor flooding.

Rocks and small mudslides littered highways in Angeles National Forest, but the roads remained passable.

In the mountains above Azusa, a man jumped to safety from his pickup truck when it was caught in the current as he attempted to ford the fast-moving San Gabriel River. Sheriff’s deputies said the man, who refused assistance, watched from the bank as the truck disappeared beneath the water, then turned and walked away.

A car spun out on the rain-slicked Golden State Freeway in Sylmar and slammed into a California Highway Patrol car parked on the center divider, but there were no injuries.

In Orange County, the rain made for a miserable morning rush hour as several freeways and surface streets suffered temporary ramp or lane closures. Rockslides tumbled onto two-lane Ortega Highway, the heavily traveled mountainous route linking Riverside and Orange counties, and authorities had to escort traffic along the road for the entire day.

High tides that reached 6 1/2 feet, the highest in the past year, posed few problems along the coast. The surf was fairly flat, so beachfront homes were not threatened.

“At one point we almost closed Pacific Coast Highway, but it kind of slowed down, and so far no problems,” said Jack Ellis, supervisor of streets for the city of Huntington Beach.

Ellis warned, however, that flooding in Huntington Beach could occur today, especially around high tide, shortly after 7 a.m.

In the San Bernardino County community of Hesperia, runoff washed into two homes and flooded a dozen intersections.

Dittmann said the rainfall was less than expected because half of the twin storm system largely skirted Southern California.

An Arctic storm moved down into the Southland as forecast, he said, but the tropical storm with which it was expected to merge passed farther south than predicted.

While original forecasts had called for up to four inches of rain in downtown Los Angeles by tonight, the total will probably be closer to half of that, with four inches in foothill communities and about six inches in the mountains, Dittmann said. “The rain will continue through Thursday, then it will be mostly dry on Friday,” he said. “Another storm system is due in Saturday, with rain Saturday night, Sunday and into Monday. With more tropical moisture heading this way, the potential still holds for very heavy rains over the next week.”

In addition to Los Angeles’ 24-hour total of 1.38 inches, other daily totals as of 4 p.m. Wednesday included 4.27 inches at Lake Arrowhead, 2.01 at Mt. Wilson, 1.83 in San Gabriel, 1.77 in Pasadena, 1.71 in Santa Ana, 1.5 in Montebello, 1.42 in Culver City, 1.06 in Long Beach and 0.63 in Woodland Hills.

Times staff writers Patrice Apodaca, Marla Cone, Ashley Dunn, Ken Ellingwood, Berkley Hudson and Julie Tamaki contributed to this story.

ANNUAL RAINFALL: Civic Center totals from 1877 through 1992. B2

Southland Rain Watch

Rainfall figures for the 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Season totals and norms are based on precipitation from July 1 to date. L.A. BASIN

REGION PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 24-Hour Storm Season Season Total Total* Total Norm Avalon/Catalina 1.05 1.05 6.32 4.00 Culver City 1.42 1.42 7.57 4.50 Long Beach 1.06 1.06 7.07 6.00 L.A. Civic Center 1.38 1.38 7.22 5.40 L.A. Int’l Airport 1.39 1.39 7.20 4.16 Montebello 1.50 1.50 7.87 4.36 Santa Monica 0.98 0.98 5.10 4.21 Torrance 1.29 1.29 6.52 4.40

VALLEYS/CANYONS

REGION PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 24-Hour Storm Season Season Total Total* Total Norm Beaumont 1.75 1.75 10.43 5.37 Monrovia 1.62 1.62 12.63 NA Northridge 0.00 0.00 3.70 NA Pasadena 1.77 1.77 9.84 6.74 Riverside 0.82 0.82 5.43 3.61 San Bernardino 1.39 1.39 5.79 5.89 San Gabriel 1.83 1.83 11.64 5.75 Santa Clarita 1.18 1.18 6.67 5.90

ORANGE COUNTY

REGION PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 24-Hour Storm Season Season Total Total* Total Norm Anaheim 1.10 1.10 7.89 NA Newport Beach 1.16 1.16 6.25 4.08 San Juan Cap. 1.65 1.65 7.01 NA Santa Ana 1.71 1.71 6.82 4.20

SAN DIEGO COUNTY

REGION PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 24-Hour Storm Season Season Total Total* Total Norm San Diego 0.73 0.73 3.77 4.06 Fallbrook 2.82 2.82 8.76 3.10 Ramona 2.01 2.01 4.73 5.62

SOUTHLAND MOUNTAINS

REGION PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 24-Hour Storm Season Season Total Total* Total Norm Big Bear Lake 1.86 1.86 11.74 9.73 Cuyamaca Park 1.68 1.68 8.81 12.73 Mt. Wilson 2.01 2.01 13.67 11.85 Palomar Mtn. 4.08 4.08 24.41 9.74

DESERTS

REGION PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 24-Hour Storm Season Season Total Total* Total Norm Borrego Springs 1.00 1.00 3.48 3.05 Palm Springs 1.14 1.14 3.07 2.82 Thermal 0.23 0.23 1.03 1.71

SANTA BARBARA/VENTURA

REGION PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 24-Hour Storm Season Season Total Total* Total Norm Point Mugu 0.53 0.53 6.59 NA Santa Barbara 0.70 0.70 6.50 5.68 Santa Paula 0.00 0.00 1.06 5.79 Ventura 0.37 0.37 6.46 4.53

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY

REGION PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 24-Hour Storm Season Season Total Total* Total Norm Bakersfield 0.11 0.11 4.12 1.93

NA indicates figures not available. In other cases, some totals may be incomplete because of missing station reports. * Amount of rainfall since the last zero-precipitation day. SOURCE: National Weather Service and WeatherData Inc.