By Reginald Stanley. Posted February 8, 2024, 4:32 PM.

A protracted atmospheric river event delivered a barrage of very wet storms to the entire region this week, bringing widespread rainfall and mountain snow as well as flooding problems to many cities.

For the majority of communities, February 5-6 was the wettest period in the storm sequence, with two-day totals of between 3 and 5 inches of rain at most WeatherCurrents stations. A large portion of Southern California experienced continuous, non-stop rainfall for nearly 48 hours - especially in Los Angeles and Ventura counties - due to a prolonged stall over the region before finally exiting to the east on February 6. Rain rates were not particularly high during this event, however moderate rain remained steady through virtually all of February 5. Easterly locations were somewhat drier and experienced rainfall for a much shorter duration - with Hemet, San Jacinto and Anza all recording under 3 inches through the end of February 6. To the north, the normally-dry Pinon Hills community received the highest total with exactly 5 inches through Tuesday night. WeatherCurrents stations in Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley and Simi Valley were also among the wetter locations during the storm. Although no lightning or thunder was reported, the storm produced pockets of rotation, prompting a rare tornado warning for San Diego during the evening of February 6th. A rotating wall cloud was observed near the Bonita suburb, however there were no reports of it touching down.

Low pressure moving down the state on February 7 brought colder temperatures, more instability and mountain snow, but less rain than the previous storm. Additional shortwaves have brought more rounds of rain overnight Wednesday into Thursday morning, further boosting season totals and pushing some communities above-average for the entire 2023-2024 water year - for the second year in a row. While storm totals from February 7-8 have managed to stay under one inch through Thursday afternoon across the WeatherCurrents network, additional precipitation remains possible into Friday and even Saturday morning as another shortwave from the north drops into the region overnight. Cumulative storm totals since February 4th in the WeatherCurrents network have ranged from as low as 2.13 inches in Anza, to as high as 5.47 inches in Pinon Hills. The communities of Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley, Fallbrook, and Simi Valley were all among the wettest in the network this week. In Temecula Valley's Wine Country, 3.77 inches was reported through February 8th (courtesy of Jim Sappington). There was considerably less rainfall accumulation in easterly locations such as Hemet, San Jacinto and Anza, however even in these locations, this week's rainfall was still significant.

Here are the rain totals for the WeatherCurrents network and associates:

1. Actual totals at Anza and Pinon Hills may be higher due to snowfall.