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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Los Angeles hit with rain again

Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES – A new round of thunderstorms plowed through Southern California on Saturday, snarling traffic, threatening mudslides and opening up a large hole on a busy street in downtown Los Angeles.

The heavy band of rain drenched coastal and valley areas throughout the day, and forecasters predicted intermittent showers until the storm moves out of the region this afternoon.

Mandatory evacuation orders remained in place for parts of Glendora, Monrovia and Azusa.

Forecasters predicted the storm will have dropped nearly 6 inches on downtown Los Angeles – and more in the mountains and hillside areas – by the time it moves on toward the Midwest and Northeast.

Bill Patzert, a climatologist for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, said the storm, the largest since December 2010, helped put an end to an unusually long wildfire season and ease the three-year drought conditions plaguing the state. He said it would bring the Los Angeles region to about half its normal rainfall for the season; it started the week at just 10 percent of normal.