Storm closes gap

The strongest storm of the season swept through Glendale on Monday, dropping more than an inch of rain in the region but causing relatively few traffic accidents, officials said.

As of Monday evening, the area had no major accidents, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

With Presidents Day providing a reprieve to morning commuters, there were relatively few incidents on local freeways, and they were minor, such as a Mercedes sedan that apparently lost control, spun out and stopped in the westbound No. 3 and 4 lanes of the Ventura (134) Freeway near the Glendale (2) Freeway, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Warnings for severe weather and flash floods were in effect much of the day, but authorities at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station said active patrols had reported no flooding or debris flows.

In the 12 hours after 4 a.m. Monday, the system dropped 1.07 inches of rain, bringing the total for the rainy season starting July 1 to 12.27 inches, said Bob Gregg, a local water observer for the Los Angeles County Flood Control District.

The normal rainfall total for this point in the season is 12.95 inches.

“So we’re almost there,” he said.

The wet February has more than made up for the unusually dry and warm January, forecasters said.

With the rainfall expected to continue today, the Glendale region is on track to surpass normal totals, Gregg said.

The weather was to subside today, with a 50% chance of rain and a high temperature of 59 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

As the week continues, expect sunny skies and temperatures to return to seasonal norms of around 70 degrees, said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist with the agency.