Storms began hitting Los Angeles County early Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 21, though the rainfall was pretty light compared to what was expected to come later in the day and on Thursday — with about 0.10 of an inch landing throughout the county by 2 p.m., according to National Weather Service.
The storm is expected to intensify into Wednesday evening, with higher rainfall, and, potentially, lighting and thunderstorms, said meteorologist Joe Sirard.
The National Weather Service previously warned of widespread rain, possible thunderstorms and an increased risk of localized flooding that would begin Wednesday afternoon and continue through Thursday evening.
Rainfall predictions anticipated an average of about 1.5 inches, with 2 to 3 inches possible in areas where terrain enhances rainfall and in locations hit by thunderstorms. Dangerous marine conditions were also predicted, prompting a beach hazards statement that will remain in effect through late Thursday night for portions of the Los Angeles County coastline. Elevated surf, dangerous rip currents, minor beach erosion and possible tidal overflow are expected.
Beaches across the coast could see extreme flooding and beach erosion into next week, Sirard said, because of abnormally high tides — reaching up to 8 feet on Monday.
The NWS has issued a flood watch for the Malibu coast, and eastern and western Santa Monica Mountains, effective Wednesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon. The watch includes Malibu, Malibu Bowl, Pacific Palisades and Topanga.
Dredging crews begin pumping sand along the Peninsula ahead of an expected two-day storm in Long Beach on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Dredging crews begin pumping sand along the Peninsula ahead of an expected two-day storm in Long Beach on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Dredging crews begin pumping sand along the Peninsula ahead of an expected two-day storm in Long Beach on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Virg Zamora shovels sand along the Peninsula ahead of an expected two-day storm in Long Beach on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The Peninsula braces for an expected two-day storm in Long Beach on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The Peninsula braces for an expected two-day storm in Long Beach on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The Peninsula braces for an expected two-day storm in Long Beach on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Virg Zamora shovels sand along the Peninsula ahead of an expected two-day storm in Long Beach on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Dredging crews begin pumping sand along the Peninsula ahead of an expected two-day storm in Long Beach on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Virg Zamora shovels sand along the Peninsula ahead of an expected two-day storm in Long Beach on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Boulders are being placed along Westward Beach in Malibu on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 where the road has deteriorated as the coast continues to be battered by high surf and severe El Niño conditions. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Boulders are being placed along Westward Beach in Malibu on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 where the road has deteriorated as the coast continues to be battered by high surf and severe El Niño conditions. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A person runs past The Sunset Restaurant where the road has deteriorated as the coast continues to be battered by high surf and severe El Niño conditions. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Boulders are being placed along Westward Beach in Malibu on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 where the road has deteriorated as the coast continues to be battered by high surf and severe El Niño conditions. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Boulders are being placed along Westward Beach in Malibu on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 in front of The Sunset Restaurant where the road has deteriorated as the coast continues to be battered by high surf and severe El Niño conditions. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Dredging crews begin pumping sand along the Peninsula ahead of an expected two-day storm in Long Beach on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Light rain was falling in Malibu by early Wednesday afternoon as high surf and tides continued to batter the coast.
By early Wednesday, however, Malibu had received no reports of new damage or other storm-related problems, said city spokesperson Matt Myerhoff, while emergency repairs remained underway along Westward Beach Road near Birdview Avenue, where erosion has repeatedly threatened the roadway. Westward Beach Road and Birdview Avenue remained open, though an access road to the parking area was open only to pedestrians and cyclists, Myerhoff said.
The emergency work follows months of erosion along the Westward Beach coastline. Large rocks were already placed along the shoreline in September following erosion associated with Hurricane Marie, according to Drew Blaisdell, a Los Angeles County Fire Department lifeguard, who estimated at the time that the area had lost about 100 feet of sand. Emergency revetment work continued this month along Westward Beach Road near Birdview Avenue and the Sunset Restaurant, before additional erosion Monday night undermined the roadway near the existing repair area and damaged a county water main, according to the city.
Cameron Wellwood, a Malibu resident who had been watching the erosion near Westward Beach, said Wednesday that conditions there did not appear to have worsened so far.
“It hasn’t gotten worse, and this storm should bring some sand back, but could affect other beaches,” he said. “There is still a dying south swell and high tides, but hopefully, the weather from the (northwest) will keep things in check (at westward at least).”
In wave-battered Long Beach, meanwhile, rain began falling at around 2 p.m., and Peninsula residents were preparing any way they could, from shoveling sand in front of the boardwalk that lies in front of their homes to stacking up sandbags at their front doors.
The storm comes just one day after Long Beach began a dredging project to stabilize the shoreline along the city’s Peninsula, which has been severely damaged over the past two months. In a span of six weeks, Long Beach has suffered damage from three major storms, decimating city infrastructure and several homes along the Peninsula.
The impacts of Tropical Storm Rachel on the Peninsula began on Oct. 8, with heavy wave activity, high tides and powerful surf that caused significant damage to the historic boardwalk and bulkhead. Seawater flooded the streets and got into homes, threatening the safety of residents, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said. Prior to that, the Peninsula community took damage during Hurricane Marie over Labor Day weekend.
“It’s still the original worry,” Peninsula resident Eric Hill said on Wednesday afternoon about another rain event coming to the coastal city. “Nothing has really changed since Labor Day weekend. It’s kind of just starting to become the new norm.”
To protect his home, which he has been in for 17 years, Hill purchased hurricane panels — clear, polycarbonate panels — to install on the windows, he said.
A mandatory evacuation order was issued the evening of Oct. 9, and is still in effect for a small number of homes between the 64th and 66th blocks of Seaside Walk, according to the city’s website. There had been no additional evacuation warnings for Long Beach, as of Wednesday afternoon.
As Long Beach continues making repairs and restorations to the historic boardwalk and bulkhead, as well as supporting homes that have taken damage from previous storms, a fence has been set up along 65th and 66th places to prevent residents and visitors from getting in.
The once-quiet neighborhood, Hill said, is now loud every day and night while city crews work on boardwalk and bulkhead repairs, as well as the new dredging project.
“It’s loud. We’re not getting much sleep, but they’re doing what they can,” Hill said. “What are you going to do when you’re trying to fight Mother Nature?”
While neighbors, including himself, think the city could have done more to prevent the Peninsula’s beach erosion — such as by doing more frequent dredging — Hill said that Councilmember Kristina Duggan, who represents the area, has done a wonderful job talking with residents about their concerns. The city has also continued working on repairs, he said.
Ahead of Wednesday’s storm, the city also placed 3,000 pound sandbags at the bulkhead. As waves began to get stronger at around 9 a.m. Wednesday, there was only some slight flooding at 65th Place. One street over, on 64th Place, sand berms were built and the city had covered up the boardwalk with sand. Crews were continuing to work on sand berms down to about 62nd Place.
Currently, seven structures remain red-tagged, which means they are unsafe for entry and cannot be occupied, according to city spokesperson Laath Martin. Those structures consist of four single-family homes, two duplexes and one fourplex, which displaced 12 families. Two homes also remain yellow-tagged.
Conditions were quieter in the South Bay, with light rain hitting the area Wednesday afternoon.
Rancho Palos Verdes — and, generally, the Palos Verdes Peninsula — have been bracing for this storm, as well as the coming El Niño, after rains hit hard in previous winters, leading to unprecedented land movement.
RPV crews are actively mentoring streets and infrastructure, and pump trucks are on call should there be flooding on Palos Verdes Drive South, according to RPV spokesperson Megan Barnes.
The city engaged in storm prep on Tuesday by inspecting and clearing catch basins and reinforcing sandbags.
Landslides are always a major concern for RPV, as the city has been plagued with severe land movement exacerbated by severe rainstorms during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 winter seasons.
Those storms saturated the earth, accelerated the historic landslide complex in RPV. The quickening landslide damaged the city’s infrastructure and dozens of homes. Since then, 27 homes in the city have been either red-tagged or yellow-tagged.
Palos Verdes Drive South, a busy thoroughfare in the city, is also continually being repaired because of the land movement. And miles of popular park trails were closed and have not opened, while gas and electricity were shut off on multiple homes.
RPV, though, has worked — successfully, to an extent — to slow the land movement, using dewatering wells to dry up the Earth. That has been working, with the land movement slowing in recent months, city officials say.
But there are concerns about what El Niño could bring. RPV, like other cities in the region, declared a local emergency in early October and has been readying for months for the predicted El Niño season.
Forecasters say that storm conditions in L.A. County are expected to continue through Thursday evening, but dry weather should be returning Friday, followed by another round of offshore Santa Ana winds over the weekend. The NWS said the upcoming Santa Ana event would be weaker than last week’s, with wind gusts of 30 to 50 mph possible, strongest in the mountains.
Temperatures are expected to rebound into the upper 70s and 80s across most coastal and valley areas over the weekend, forecasters said.
Staff writers Christina Merino, Mike Hixon and Teresa Liu contributed to this report, as well as City News Service.