California storm coverage: What to know

After four straight days, it stopped raining in California on Wednesday.

The death toll from the mega atmospheric river storm climbed to nine on Tuesday, and it included the first storm-related deaths in Southern California. Officials are concerned the number could grow once the water recedes.

On Wednesday, a search for a helicopter with five Marines aboard was underway after the aircraft failed to arrive at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego after flying from Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nev., in stormy conditions, officials said.

The deadly storm that smashed records in SoCal, with mud and debris flows inundating roads and forcing evacuations, is finally on the horizon — but not until after a smaller system will bring some additional rain and snow to the region on Wednesday. The next storm could bring another half-inch of rain to the Los Angeles area and up to an inch in the foothills and mountains, according to the National Weather Service.

“A storm like this — if we hadn’t had so much rain before — wouldn’t be a big deal,” said Mike Wofford, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard. But with the ground still saturated and many hillsides still precarious from debris flows and mudslides, “there could be some additional issues because of that.”

As of late Monday, Los Angeles authorities had responded to more than 475 mudslides, with 38 homes or buildings damaged by debris flows, including four that were deemed unsafe to enter.

SoCal was hit hard on Tuesday as the storm continued to linger over the region. The storm continued its push, two days after it parked itself over the L.A. metropolitan area, jump-starting what the National Weather Service called “one of the most dramatic weather days in recent memory.” It has caused flooding and mudslides — some of which ruined homes and forced evacuations.

Evacuation orders or warnings were put in place in L.A., Ventura, Orange and San Bernardino counties.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in eight SoCal counties: L.A., Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura.

As of late Tuesday, rain totals in parts of the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains topped 12 inches, including Bel-Air (13.04 inches) and Topanga Canyon (13.48), according to the National Weather Service’s latest counts.

“Rainfall in downtown Los Angeles on the 4th and the 5th [of February] totaled 7.03 inches,” an analysis from the National Weather Service said. “That is the third wettest consecutive two-day total since official weather records began in 1877 … and the highest two-day rainfall total for the month of February.”

The storm packed a wallop across California, including flooding, water rescues and damaging winds in the San Francisco Bay Area and down the Central Coast.

Here’s our latest coverage:

After four straight days, it stopped raining in California on Wednesday.

The death toll from the mega atmospheric river storm climbed to nine on Tuesday, and it included the first storm-related deaths in Southern California. Officials are concerned the number could grow once the water recedes.

On Wednesday, a search for a helicopter with five Marines aboard was underway after the aircraft failed to arrive at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego after flying from Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nev., in stormy conditions, officials said.

The deadly storm that smashed records in SoCal, with mud and debris flows inundating roads and forcing evacuations, is finally on the horizon — but not until after a smaller system will bring some additional rain and snow to the region on Wednesday. The next storm could bring another half-inch of rain to the Los Angeles area and up to an inch in the foothills and mountains, according to the National Weather Service.

“A storm like this — if we hadn’t had so much rain before — wouldn’t be a big deal,” said Mike Wofford, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard. But with the ground still saturated and many hillsides still precarious from debris flows and mudslides, “there could be some additional issues because of that.”

As of late Monday, Los Angeles authorities had responded to more than 475 mudslides, with 38 homes or buildings damaged by debris flows, including four that were deemed unsafe to enter.

SoCal was hit hard on Tuesday as the storm continued to linger over the region. The storm continued its push, two days after it parked itself over the L.A. metropolitan area, jump-starting what the National Weather Service called “one of the most dramatic weather days in recent memory.” It has caused flooding and mudslides — some of which ruined homes and forced evacuations.

Evacuation orders or warnings were put in place in L.A., Ventura, Orange and San Bernardino counties.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in eight SoCal counties: L.A., Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura.

As of late Tuesday, rain totals in parts of the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains topped 12 inches, including Bel-Air (13.04 inches) and Topanga Canyon (13.48), according to the National Weather Service’s latest counts.

“Rainfall in downtown Los Angeles on the 4th and the 5th [of February] totaled 7.03 inches,” an analysis from the National Weather Service said. “That is the third wettest consecutive two-day total since official weather records began in 1877 … and the highest two-day rainfall total for the month of February.”

The storm packed a wallop across California, including flooding, water rescues and damaging winds in the San Francisco Bay Area and down the Central Coast.

Here’s our latest coverage: