We’ve had so much rain, the flowers and plants in my yard are drooping from it all. This evening, I discovered clusters of white pebbles in the puddles in the flower beds. The pebbles — small ice chips — hail. I got caught in a hail/rainstorm around 6 p.m. while out running some quick errands in Burbank. One cloudburst dropped so much rain, I had trouble seeing through the windshield even though the wipers were whipping back and forth like crazy.
Many areas of the Southland, were battered by rain, hail, and wind today. Also, there are reports of tornadoes touching down in Riverside and Ventura Counties, ripping out trees, tossing cars and trucks around. In the nearby fire-ravaged foothills, crews are working to contain mud and debris flows in neighborhoods where yesterday hundreds of residents were ordered to evacuate.
Red Cross Evacuation Centers are open at La Canada Flintridge High School: 4463 Oak Grove Drive, La Canada, Sunland Park Recreation Center: 8651 Foothill Blvd., Sunland, and Glendale Civic Auditorium: 1401 N. Verdugo Rd., Glendale. There is another shelter at Sierra Madre Community Recreation Center: 611 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre as well. Additional information on the evacuation centers, the evacuations, and some of the road closures are on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works website http://dpw.lacounty.gov/CARE/
And tonight reportedly the search was called off for a second teenager apparently swept away in the Santa Ana river in Orange County. Rescuers pulled one boy from the treacherous waters, but were unable to find his friend. More storm reports on the 818 Now website.
Meanwhile, weather experts say we are nearing the end of this series of storms, but they’re still predicting bands on thunderstorms will spiral through the Southland overnight and through tomorrow bringing more bursts of heavy rains, lightning, gusty winds up to 60 miles an hour, and even pea-size hail. Oh, they say sunshine is on the way for the weekend. Hallelujah!
