The last round of atmospheric river storms drenched Southern California with historic rainfall , and by one measure, it came close to beating a record for the most rain over a three-day period.
While the rain was widespread, damage — including landslides — was focused mostly on certain hillside neighborhoods . Why didn’t the storms cause catastrophic landslides across a greater swath of the region?
We spoke with the U.S. Geological Survey to answer that question. Here are some key takeaways:
Rainfall totals were big
The cumulative rainfall recorded during the early February storms was eye-popping. For the five-day period that ended at 5 a.m. Feb. 8, downtown Los Angeles got more than 9 inches. That’s more than 60% of its average annual rainfall.
The scenic mountain range north of Hollywood and Westwood was also hit hard: Bel-Air got about 14 inches of rain. The deluge caused a house to slide off its foundation on Caribou Lane in Beverly Glen , a mountainous neighborhood northwest of Beverly Hills.