“As it made its way down south along the coast it rained itself out,” Stern said.
The weather service called off a flash-flood warning overnight, but was maintaining a flash-flood watch Wednesday as drizzling continued, Stern said.
The weather is expected to take a dramatic shift by the weekend, with temperatures exceeding 80 degrees, Gregg said.
“It should be a beautiful weekend and no new storms are on the horizon at all,” he said. “Who knows, this may be it for October.”
The rainfall did not come close to matching records for October, Gregg said. Nearly 12 inches of rain fell in a two-day span four years ago, he said.
Anxiety over potential rain runoff and mud flow from barren hillsides spurred a rush of disaster-preparedness efforts from city officials and residents in recent days.
City workers helped hillside residents fill and stack sandbags and placed concrete barriers in front of the most vulnerable properties.
Markridge Road resident Jim Rabe, who lives below the charred landscape in Deukmejian Wilderness Park, was scouting his hillside community before sunrise Wednesday.
“I’m more worried about the people over here,” Rabe said, pointing at the intersection of Dunsmore Avenue and Markridge Road.
A drainage channel from the park leads to that intersection, where crews had placed six K-rails on one property.
But rain didn’t appear to be causing a problem yet, said Rabe, who used a flashlight to examine the drainage wash.
“This is all pretty much normal, clear water, so that’s a good thing,” he said. “When it starts to get muddy, that’s when you have a problem.”
Mike McFadden, who lives in the vulnerable corner property, said he was pleasantly surprised by the light rainfall after hearing dire warnings.
Still, he planned on staying alert in the case that more water or debris began rushing from the channel.
“We’ve already packed some stuff in the car, just in case,” he said.
