Southern California is closing out November under a remarkable blanket of rain that has rewritten the region’s weather record books. In Santa Barbara, nearly nine inches of rainfall were logged at the airport, the most ever recorded there in November since record keeping began in the early nineteen forties.
Meteorologists say a persistent train of Pacific storms funneled moisture directly into the coast during the past week, creating a pattern more commonly associated with midwinter rather than late autumn. The result was a series of soaking fronts that repeatedly drenched communities from Ventura County down through Los Angeles and Orange County.
The steady rainfall has provided a rare moment of relief for fire officials who have been bracing for late season wind driven fires. At the same time, the sudden swing from droughtlike conditions to saturated ground has raised concerns over landslides and hillside instability. In several foothill communities emergency crews have already been dispatched to monitor runoff and small debris flows.
Forecasters expect lingering showers through the weekend before conditions begin to dry out. Even with the storms moving east, officials warn that the saturated soil will remain unstable for several days.
