SOUTHLAND SOAKED! TRAFFIC STALLS ON FLOODED AREA FREEWAYS; RAINS TO CONTINUE.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

The skies let loose over Los Angeles on Wednesday, tying up traffic and knocking out power during a Pacific storm expected to restore the region's lagging rainfall before petering out today.

The season's first storm dumped 2 1/2 inches downtown - and 5.78 inches in Woodland Hills, topping the 1992 record for the date by 0.78 of an inch.

A record 7.68 inches of precipitation fell on Mount Wilson above Pasadena, besting the 2001 record by 4.34 inches, and Chatsworth got 3.84 inches, 0.04 of an inch more than the old 1992 record.

Drivers struggled during rush hours and throughout the day to navigate through flooded freeways and surface streets while crews worked feverishly to restore power to more than 10,000 homes.

``This is a very significant storm,'' said Stuart Seto, a National Weather Service spokesman based in Oxnard. ``It'll put us back in the running for normal rainfall.''

NWS meteorologist Ben Moyer predicted that only a half-inch of rain would fall today, ``so we're not expecting any kind of flooding.''

A weak storm system is expected to hit the region Sunday, dropping a nominal amount of rain, Moyer said.

``After that, it looks like clear skies through next week,'' Moyer said.

Before Tuesday, Los Angeles had fallen 2 inches behind its norm for the year. Wednesday's deluge brought the total since July 1 - the start of the rainy season - to 8.99 inches, or one-third of an inch above normal.

Valley communities received the brunt of the storm by 5 p.m., with Van Nuys at 3.2 inches, Burbank at 3.45 inches and Northridge at 4.7 inches.

Simi Valley received 3.5 inches, Newhall 4.9 inches and Palmdale 3.44 inches.

Rain-slick streets caused cars to spin, stalled traffic and led to a second day of gridlock frustration as commuters grappled with the first measurable rain since mid-December.

``The 101 Freeway's usually bad but today the rain's just making the commute a life-and-death struggle,'' said Susan Shepherd as she left a Starbucks in North Hollywood. ``Some people want to drive 30 mph on the highway, others want to drive as fast as they can, tailgating, as if there was no rain.''

Officials blamed wet pavement for separate crashes that killed three motorists in Pacoima, Lancaster and Echo Park.

The California Highway Patrol reported 549 collisions between 4 and 10 a.m. - more than double the daily average. Los Angeles police also reported a spike in the number of crashes.

``The county has been pretty much locked up,'' said California Highway Patrol Officer Francisco Villalobos. ``There are a lot of minor collisions blocking the roadways.''

Firefighters and police warned residents to stay clear of flooded roads and raging storm channels. The Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area was closed to the public.

The CHP guided pre-dawn commuters along the Ventura Freeway in Encino, where water a foot deep blocked the ``fast'' lanes in both directions. Morning traffic ground to a halt, as commute times doubled and even tripled.

``On my way to work, I saw 13 accidents, all of them people who hydroplaned and left the road,'' said Lt. Steven Allen of the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division.

In Santa Clarita, residents of a senior citizens community awoke to a torrent of muddy water flooding their homes, while mudslides forced the closure of a heavily traveled stretch of Bouquet Canyon Road.

Los Angeles County fire camp crews piled sandbags around a dozen homes in Quartz Hill, where water lapped at the foundations, and officials offered sandbags to worried residents.

While Southern California normally gets its winter storms from Alaska, forecasters blamed this week's storm on an upper-level low pressure front from the Pacific, though they were loathe to credit the El Nio current.

``This has some tropical fetch to it from down south, and that is what's been feeding into the storm,'' said Curt Kaplan, a NWS meteorologist.

By the time the storm has passed, it will have dropped from 3 inches to 6 inches on Southland valleys, and 4 inches to 7 inches in the mountains.

A decade earlier, on Feb. 10, 1992, El Nio rains dropped more than 7 inches in Woodland Hills in one day during a fierce storm that led to flash floods and dramatic helicopter rescues of motorists.

On Wednesday, school officials reported leaky roofs and flooded campuses. Staffers at Andasol Avenue Elementary School in Northridge set out trash cans to defend against office and classroom leaks.

In the Palmdale School District, flooded streets around several campuses forced officials to drive buses onto playgrounds or onto rear streets to load up children. The district canceled classes for today out of fear the flooding will be worse.

Take-out eateries reported a deluge of orders as office workers avoided getting wet.

``We're flyin', running about the same as a Friday night,'' said Justin Garcia, manager of Papa John's Pizza in Woodland Hills. ``Earlier today, we were 2 1/2 hours behind.''

In Ventura County, the storm dropped 2 inches of water. Mudslides closed northbound Highway 33 at Wheeler Hot Springs and southbound lanes at Lockwood Valley Road in the Ozena campground area.

Staff Writers Ryan Oliver, Helen Gao and Rachel Uranga contributed to this report.

SANDBAG SPOTS

Residents living near areas at risk for flooding can get sandbags and sand at a number of locations.

--Sandbags will be available at Los Angeles city and county fire stations, and some also have sand.

--Sandbags and sand will be available, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, at the DWP offices at 10811 Chandler Blvd., North Hollywood; 9401 Wentworth St., Sunland; 6015 Baird Ave., Reseda; 10210 Etiwanda Ave., Granada Hills; and 7453 Canoga Ave., Canoga Park.

--Residents can fill the sandbags at Battalion Headquarters Fire Station 73, 24875 N. San Fernando Road in Santa Clarita; the Public Works Yard, 17931 Sierra Highway; or Curtis Sand and Gravel, 14320 Soledad Canyon Road, Santa Clarita.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, box, chart

Photo:

(1 -- color) Crews from Camp 11 in Acton pack sandbags above a flood channel near North Oakspur Drive in Canyon Country.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) Van Nuys resident Keith Johnson helps a motorist across a flooded Balboa Boulevard, which was closed from Burbank to Victory boulevards.

(3 -- color) Motorists navigate their way across rising waters along Balboa Boulevard on Wednesday in Van Nuys.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News

(4 -- color) A Caltrans employee works around the scene of a fatal crash in which a driver of a Ford van lost control of the vehicle and it slammed into a Caltrans truck while work crews were clearing drains on the Golden State Freeway near the westbound Ronald Reagan Freeway.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

(5 -- color) Washington Wizards assistant coach Larry Drew of Sherman Oaks carries sandbags to his car Wednesday.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer

Box:

SANDBAG SPOTS (see text)

Chart:

RAINFALL TOTALS