ÒOn February 2nd and 3rd, just as doubt was beginning to surface in southern California about the reality of El Nino's consequences, the first of a month-long succession of dramatic and impressive storms paid a visit, with high winds, intense rain, heavy mountain snows, and high surf. Embedded in the fast flow, storms followed closely and quickly on each other's heels, for most of the remainder of the month, leaving little time for recovery. Almost no part of the state escaped unaffected. Although storms cannot be individually ascribed to its presence, El Nino certainly played a prominent role in setting the stage as an "enabling factor" for the unfolding sequence of events.Ó
ÒMany locations from the San Francisco Bay area southward set February and/or any-month precipitation records, including: UCLA (20.51", wettest month ever), Bakersfield (5.36" wettest Feb), Mojave (6.70", wettest Feb, 615 percent of average), Edwards Air Force Base (5.88", wettest month, 42 years), UC Riverside (9.49", wettest month), Santa Maria 11.59" (wettest month), Los Angeles Civic Center (13.79", wettest Feb), Oxnard 17.80" (wettest month), Ventura Downtown (18.91", wettest month, 132 years), Santa Barbara (21.74", wettest month, 132 years), Lompoc (12.86", wettest month), San Francisco (14.88", wettest Feb, 148 years of records, 508 % of average, old record 12.52" in 1878), and Lake Lagunitas (second to 1891, record starts 1879). Monthly totals reached 36.37" at Cazadero in Sonoma County, with automated mountain gages north of Los Angeles reporting February totals up to 43 inches (likely to be slightly underestimates). In Santa Clara County, Ben Lomond recorded 19.7" in the first 8 days of the month, and by February 20, many locations had already set monthly records. Major episodes included the 3rd-6th, 8th-11th, 17th-19th, and 23rd-24th.Ó