Heavy Rains Drench Valleys; Another Storm Is Expected

The tail end of what one weather forecaster referred to as a “mother lode” storm system brought more heavy rain to parts of the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys Wednesday.

The rain gauge maintained by the National Weather Service in Santa Clarita registered a half-inch accumulation of rain by evening, with more expected later that night, said meteorologist Bruce Entwistle.

The rain was especially heavy in Santa Clarita, with 0.3 of an inch coming down in just one hour, starting at 4:10 p.m., he said.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms were also reported in Tujunga and several other northeast San Fernando Valley areas.

And although this system--which in three days has brought rain, hail, thunderstorms and even snow to Southern California cities--is finally leaving the Los Angeles Basin, more bad weather is probably ahead.

“There is another storm system heading this way, and there is a chance that by late Saturday night, there could be more rain,” said Bruce Thoren, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides weather information to The Times.

This system spun off from a powerful low pressure center near the Aleutian Islands, Thoren said.

But for the next three days at least, while the sun’s appearance may be spotty, there is no rain in the forecast.

Skies should be partly cloudy today, as the storm gives way to a strong high pressure system about 100 miles off the coast. This kind of system provides the sunny days more common for this time of year, Entwistle said.

The recent rains were unusual in that they drenched some areas of the San Fernan d o Valley while letting others off far more easily. Woodland Hills in the West Valley accumulated about one inch of rain over the last three days. While rainfall totals aren’t available for communities to the east, Entwistle estimated that they received from one-third to one-half of an inch of rain.

Even with the dwindling storm system Wednesday, there were reports of rough weather in other parts of the county.

A helicopter pilot reported seeing a funnel cloud associated with a thunderstorm moving north over East Los Angeles about 4 p.m., Thoren said.