As a thunderstorm rolled across Los Angeles County early Friday morning, Kenny Keil was wakened by his wife, who asked: “Did you hear that? Was that an earthquake?”
Mr. Keil, a comic book artist, chuckled over the phone as he told this story and said the episode was likely to make it into his series about the lack of familiarity his neighbors have with rain.
“It was buckets all night, last night,” he said. “Rain is not something we’re used to, and it’s very rare to hear thunder.”
This month, Los Angeles residents have had to become a little more used to rain, as the city has received nearly four and a half inches of rain in the last week alone.
Summers are mostly dry in California, followed by a dramatic swing to a rainy season between late fall and early spring, when many parts of state receive nearly all of their annual precipitation. And this year’s rainy season has started off especially wet.
Downtown Los Angeles has recorded nearly seven inches of rain since Oct. 1, making it the fifth wettest start to a rainy season in records that date back to 1899. The last time the city had a wetter start was in 1967, which means many people living in the region have never experienced a soggier autumn — which is obvious to Mr. Keil because, he said, “nobody in Los Angeles knows how to drive in the rain.”
The numbers might not sound like a lot of for people living in most other parts of the country, but in the desert climate of Southern California it’s notable, and especially compared to last year.
From Oct. 1 to this time last year, downtown Los Angeles had received only 0.07 of an inch of rain. The dry conditions persisted into January, helping fuel the catastrophic wildfires that tore through neighborhoods in Los Angeles County. This year, the recent rains have put an end to the wildfire risk.
“We’ve had enough rain that we’re out of fire season for now,” said Matt Shameson, a meteorologist with the U.S. Forest Service.
A lot of the recent rain came from a wet storm last week that pulled in moisture from the Pacific Ocean. The system dropped sheets of rain over the Santa Ynez Mountains in Santa Barbara County, where some of the highest peaks recorded over nine inches of rain in 24 hours. It then moved into Los Angeles County, where downtown Los Angeles recorded 1.65 inches of rain, breaking the previous same-day record of 1.64 inches set in 1952.
More storms have rolled through since then, including one that arrived Thursday night and brought another 1.11 inches to Los Angeles on Friday alone.
The rain has brought some flooding to roads and has caused rock slides and mudslides on canyon roads in Los Angeles County, but there were no reports of significant hazardous flooding.
Just south of Los Angeles in Huntington Beach, the streets flooded early Friday amid downpours of rain. Lt. Brian Smith with the Huntington Beach Police Department said some drivers had been stranded with their cars and brought to safety. There were no injuries or deaths.
The rain has temporarily altered the daily habits of the city’s residents.
At the Alcove Cafe & Bakery in Los Angeles, customers have not been ordering as much cold brew, which is typically the drink of choice year-round.
In recent weeks, the cafe has been serving more hot beverages, soup and “any sandwich with the word melt in it,” said Tom Trellis, the owner.
“On a rainy day we look like a bustling Seattle coffee house,” Mr. Trellis said.
Amy Graff is a Times reporter covering weather, wildfires and earthquakes.
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