After I last wrote that spring was in the air, Mother Nature has dealt Southern California a massive slap to mark the beginning of Spring 2011. Yesterday, it rained all day here and parts of Southern California received as much as 4 inches of rain in a 24-hour period. Even here on the west side of Los Angeles, heavy rainfall produced scattered flooding and power outages, although Alma and I were not personally affected.
Most Southern California roadways are engineered for lower average amounts of rainfall per hour than was falling yesterday. At some places in SoCal, the meteorologists said the rain was falling at a rate of 1.5" per hour. This overwhelmed the drainage capacities of many of the roads and highways, leading to flash flooding. I heard a report on TV last night that water had reached "windshield level" (of cars) at the entrance ramp of Western Ave to the 5 Freeway. That is the first time in the 17 years I have lived here that I have ever heard of such conditions.
Alma and I went to the Westfield Culver City mall for our daily walks on Saturday and Sunday. It worked out well, because we also needed to buy some things at Target in the mall. But this morning it looks like the rain may continue for a third day and, if so, we shall be heading back to the mall for our 3rd straight day of walking indoors. Ugh. I cannot wait for the sunny warm weather to return and for winter to be gone for good.
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