4 Dead as Storm Lashes Southland : Rain: The fatalities are caused by traffic accidents. Homeowners in Studio City and Agoura Hills fear further mudslides.

An intense, blustery storm drenched Southern California for a second straight day Friday, contributing to at least four traffic deaths, fraying the nerves of vulnerable hillside residents and delivering a touch of winter to springtime Los Angeles.

Downtown, a record 2.45 inches of rain fell between midnight and 3 p.m., breaking the previous record for the date of 1.53 inches, set in 1906. The storm also dumped up to a foot of snow in the mountains, where ski resort managers predicted large weekend crowds.

Through it all, the wind blew--sometimes gusting up to 30 m.p.h.--and temperatures stayed chilly. The top reading at the Los Angeles Civic Center was only 61 degrees on Friday--9 degrees below normal for the fifth day of spring.

“The storm packed a big punch before it moved east into the desert,” said Steve Burback, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times. The bulk of the storm moved into southern Nevada and Arizona Friday afternoon, leaving scattered rain, clouds and strong desert winds in its wake.

Burback predicted that another, weaker storm would hit the region late this afternoon, with about a 40% chance of showers tonight and early Sunday. Skies should clear by Sunday afternoon, Burback said, with generally dry weather through Wednesday.

Hillside homeowners in Studio City and Agoura Hills kept a watchful eye Friday as more rain pelted the already saturated earth behind their houses, threatening to set off more mudslides.

A small landslide in Agoura Hills this week caused about 10 feet of earth movement behind one home, but authorities said no buildings were in imminent danger. Nonetheless, Los Angeles County firefighters shored up the area with sandbags and remained on the scene.

The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District denied reports that leaks from the utility’s water pipes had caused the problem in Agoura Hills. General Manager Kent McClain said there are water pipes in the hillside, but they have not been in service for three years, because development in the area caused earth movements that broke some pipes, prompting the water district to build other pipelines to replace them.

Officials warned that several homes in Studio City may suffer more damage because of a sliding hill. Some residents were evacuated Tuesday because a 300-foot-wide chunk of hillside began to give way behind six homes.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the body of a 25-year-old man was pulled from the cab of a mangled truck that crashed through a freeway guardrail and plunged 70 feet into the rain-swollen Los Angeles River. The victim’s name was withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The CHP said the truck toppled into the river Thursday night after colliding with a car on the Golden State Freeway, just north of downtown Los Angeles. The vehicle was swept about 1 1/2 miles downstream. The river’s strong currents prevented firefighters from recovering the vehicle and the man’s body until 8 a.m. Friday.

Adam Ambrose, 6, was fatally injured late Thursday night when the car he was riding in spun out of control on wet pavement, overturned and was struck by two other vehicles on the Golden State Freeway, the CHP said.

Officers said the boy’s mother, Christine Ambrose, 28, of Carmichael, was headed south on the freeway just north of Western Avenue when her car apparently hit a puddle, spun and overturned. A car traveling south on the freeway struck the passenger side of Ambrose’s auto, forcing it into the next lane of traffic, where another car struck the Ambrose vehicle.

The boy was pronounced dead at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. Seven other people, including Christine Ambrose and her two other sons, suffered minor injuries in the crash.

Dozens of other traffic accidents occurred on rain-slick pavement throughout Southern California, the CHP said.

A 10-car pileup blocked all westbound lanes of the Ventura Freeway in Glendale for several hours on Friday, but there were no serious injuries, the CHP said. Two people were killed when their car crashed during a rain squall Thursday evening on California 126 near Fillmore in Ventura County.

A helicopter rescued a man and dog stranded on a sandbar in Malibu Creek late Thursday, according to county Fire Inspector Joel Harrison. Both the man and dog were unhurt.

The latest storm dropped the first significant rainfall on Southern California since late February. Almost 18 inches of rain fell on Los Angeles in January and February, but less than a tenth of an inch had fallen in March before the latest storm arrived on Thursday.

Friday’s rainfall brought the season’s total in downtown Los Angeles to 28.09 inches. Last season’s total at this time was 20.09 inches.

Southland Rain Watch Rainfall figures for the 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m. yesterday. 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 0.90 1.06 19.56 10.68 Long Beach 1.56 1.63 23.04 9.26 L.A. Civic Center 2.35 2.46 26.30 13.20 L.A. Int’l Airport 1.34 1.45 22.99 10.42 UCLA 2.02 2.41 31.69 14.60

VALLEYS/CANYONS

REGION PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 24-Hour Storm Season Season Total Total* Total Norm Northridge 1.91 2.12 15.57 NA Pasadena 3.54 3.54 33.12 17.37 Riverside 0.78 0.78 19.99 8.85 San Bernardino 0.50 0.50 19.96 14.13 San Gabriel NA 0.00 31.55 15.14 Santa Clarita 2.07 2.07 28.10 15.18

ORANGE COUNTY

REGION PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 24-Hour Storm Season Season Total Total* Total Norm San Juan Cap. 1.51 1.51 24.15 NA Santa Ana 1.14 1.14 22.15 10.99

SAN DIEGO COUNTY

REGION PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 24-Hour Storm Season Season Total Total* Total Norm Oceanside 0.82 0.82 14.58 8.91 San Diego 0.82 0.82 17.50 8.60

SOUTHLAND MOUNTAINS

REGION PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 24-Hour Storm Season Season Total Total* Total Norm Big Bear Lake 0.12 0.12 38.60 20.12 Mt. Wilson 3.55 3.75 55.00 30.64

DESERTS

REGION PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 24-Hour Storm Season Season Total Total* Total Norm Bishop 0.00 0.07 2.05 4.65 Palm Springs Trace 0.00 12.42 5.50

SANTA BARBARA/VENTURA

REGION PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 24-Hour Storm Season Season Total Total* Total Norm Ojai 3.25 3.79 40.84 18.06 Oxnard NA 1.45 17.38 12.69 Point Mugu 0.83 1.39 20.39 NA Santa Barbara 1.17 2.08 19.15 14.68 Santa Paula 2.40 3.91 25.42 15.30 Ventura 1.32 4.04 26.38 12.18

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY

REGION PRECIPITATION IN INCHES 24-Hour Storm Season Season Total Total* Total Norm Bakersfield NA 0.25 8.30 4.81

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.