Arctic Storm Brings ‘Polar’ Temps and Soaks Malibu Area

• City and County Road Crews Quickly Cleared Up the Minor Rockslides and Debris Flows

BY ANNE SOBLE

Weather is the universe’s social equalizer and the quintessential topic of everyday conversation. When that weather was a freezing Arctic storm that spent two days deciding when it would move onto the Southern California coast, it dominated the actions of many who waited and watched the cloudbanks for clues.
The polar Pacific low sent cold air into resisting warm air hovering over the area. Malibu experienced bouts of moderate-to-heavy rainfall at steady intervals, which most observers said were appropriately paced to allow the ground to absorb the moisture with minimal runoff.
The heaviest rains fell late Sunday night to Monday morning, with showers on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday that were also viewed as beneficial, given the below average rainfall the area has received this year.
Unofficial rainfall numbers for western Malibu ranged between one and three inches, with lower numbers at the east end of the community. Local rain gauges tended toward higher readings than registered on the Westside.
City and county road crews were generally credited with rapid response times. The minor debris flows and rockfalls on local roads caused few problems.
However, the danger from falling rocks is not over when the rains conclude. Loosened soil can send sizable boulders down slopes days after a storm is over.
The rain may have triggered over three times the number of traffic accidents on Los Angeles freeways than occurred the week before, but authorities reported only a few “fender-benders” and no serious injuries on local roads.
The snow that fell in mountain areas of Los Angeles County didn’t make its way to Malibu, with the lowest nearby snow level being 3000 feet in Ventura County.
Throughout the storm period, a flash flood watch, less serious than a flash flood warning, but a reminder to remain on alert, was in effect throughout the Santa Monica Mountains, where completely dry and almost dry creeks are starting to fill with water.
Now that wildfire is a year-round phenomenon in the Southland, winter rains should no longer be viewed as the end of an artificially determined “wildfire season,” but this week’s thorough soaking reduces the likelihood of a major conflagration, even as it encourages the growth of grasses that could serve as potential tinder when they dry out.
Just as importantly, a series of storms like this week’s can ease local water shortage concerns. They won’t mean the drought is over, but increased rainfall can forestall the implementation of serious water use restrictions.