KTLA

February 2024 is now 4th wettest ever for Los Angeles

Tony Kurzweil

Multiple storms aided by atmospheric river conditions have pushed this month’s rain total to the fourth-wettest February ever in Los Angeles.

This latest storm brought 1.99 inches of rain to downtown Los Angeles so far, bringing this month’s total rainfall to 12.56 inches.


“This is now the 4th wettest February in Downtown Los Angeles since records began in 1877,” the National Weather Service stated.

It is also the wettest month in 26 years, since February 1998, which the Weather Service said was the wettest February ever with 13.66 inches of rain.

L.A.’s wettest month ever was December 1889, when a whopping 15.80 inches of rain fell on the city.

“The rainfall total of 12.56 inches of rain (so far) this February is 88 percent of the average seasonal rainfall in Downtown Los Angeles, which is 14.25 inches (based on the 30-year period
from 1991 to 2020),” the Weather Service said.

A man walks his dog on the edge of the Los Angeles River, carrying stormwater downstream Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. The second of back-to-back atmospheric rivers battered California, flooding roadways and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands and prompting a rare warning for hurricane-force winds as the state braced for what could be days of heavy rains. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
People suffering from homelessness set large tents next to the Emmanuel Baptist Rescue Mission on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. A storm of historic proportions dumped a record amount of rain over parts of Los Angeles on Monday, sending mud and boulders down hillsides dotted with multimillion-dollar homes. In contrast, people living in homeless encampments in many parts of the city scrambled for safety. Shelters were adding beds for the city’s homeless population of nearly 75,000 people. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
A first responder helps a resident evacuate from a neighborhood after a mudslide, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, in the Beverly Crest area of Los Angeles. A storm of historic proportions unleashed record levels of rain over parts of Los Angeles on Monday, endangering the city’s large homeless population, sending mud and boulders down hillsides dotted with multimillion-dollar homes and knocking out power for more than a million people in California. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Traffic backed up along Pacific Coast Highway due to flooding in Santa Monica, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. The first of two back-to-back atmospheric rivers is drenching California. Heavy rain and gusty winds began hitting the north on Wednesday and moved south along the coast, snarling the Thursday morning commute in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Only nine previous calendar months have ever topped a foot of rain in Downtown Los Angeles.

February 2024 is now tied for the 7th wettest calendar month ever in Downtown Los Angeles.

Here is a look at some of the wettest Februarys and where 2024 stands among the wettest calendar months ever:

Downtown Los Angeles (Records since 1877)

1) 13.68″ (1998) 15.80″ (DEC 1889)
2) 13.37″ (1884) 14.94″ (JAN 1969)
3) 12.75″ (1980) 13.68″ (FEB 1998)
4) 12.56″ (2024)* 13.37″ (FEB 1884)
5) 12.42″ (1941) 13.30″ (JAN 1916)
6) 11.57″ (1962) 12.75″ (FEB 1980)
7) 11.02″ (2005) 12.56″ (FEB 2024)*
8) 9.81″ (1938) 12.56″ (JAN 1995)+
9) 9.25″ (1887) 12.42″ (FEB 1941)
10) 9.16″ (1913) 12.36″ (MAR 1884)

+ Tie for 7th

The rainfall total for the 2023-2024 rain season now stands at 17.79 inches, which is already more than 3.5 inches above normal for the entire year, according to the Weather Service.