Storm Arrives With Makings of a Wet Week

The steady rain that dampened much of Monday’s Presidents Day holiday is expected to darken the skies and slicken the streets of much of Southern California at least through Thursday and is being heralded as potentially the largest storm of the waning winter wet season.

Northern Los Angeles County, including the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys and parts of the San Gabriel Mountains, could receive as much as three inches of rain, according to Robb Kaczmarek of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

“This is probably one of the strongest ones of the winter,” he said.

Rain fell Sunday night and through much of Monday in places, although temperatures remained balmy and in the 60s. Heavier showers were expected throughout the day today and Wednesday, with highs forecast in the 60s and lows in the mid-50s through the rest of the week.

The storm, which weather maps showed stretching to Hawaii, is expected to move out of the area Thursday afternoon.

Some areas “could see constant rain now through Thursday morning,” Kaczmarek said.

On Monday, the California Highway Patrol in Los Angeles reported dozens of auto accidents as travelers ended their three-day holiday on slippery roads.

A car went over the side of the northbound Antelope Valley Freeway south of Placerita Canyon Road shortly before noon Monday. The driver, an unidentified man, was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, a CHP spokesperson said. His condition was unknown.

An 18-wheel truck jackknifed and caught fire on the northbound Golden State Freeway near the transition road to the westbound Simi Valley Freeway on Monday afternoon. The condition of the unidentified driver was not known.

The rain was blamed for an accident that involved an airport shuttle van in Santa Monica and injured five people, four of them seriously.

Roni Roseberg, a spokeswoman for the Santa Monica Fire Department, said the van was turning from Neilson Way onto Strand Avenue about 1:20 p.m. when it skidded into a light pole, ejecting several passengers. The victims were taken to two local hospitals.

Today, the heaviest rain will probably be concentrated in the central part of the state and in the Sierra, where heavy snow is expected at altitudes above 7,000 feet. Northern California will probably escape the brunt of the storm.

In Southern California, a flash flood watch was issued for the mountain areas of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, along with parts of Ventura County north to Santa Barbara, amid predictions that they could be in for as much as three inches of rain today. The region from Los Angeles south to Santa Ana will get about half that amount and southern Orange County and San Diego County will get even less.

Wednesday looks as though it will be a repeat, with continuing moderate rain adding up to three inches in northern areas and one to two inches in areas from the Los Angeles Civic Center south, Kaczmarek said.

Despite those forecasts, rainfall for the season will remain far below normal. The Civic Center has had only 4.86 inches of rain this season, compared to a normal amount of 9.93 inches by this date.

Last year, unusually wet weather had delivered 16 inches of rain by this date.

The story is the same in Santa Ana, which has had only 4.01 inches of rain so far this season. That compares to a normal figure of 8.25 inches and last year’s rainfall of 16.37 inches.