By Reginald Stanley. Posted February 15, 2019, 10:36 PM.

A major atmospheric river event over the Pacific Ocean channeled a deep plume of tropical moisture at the region late Wednesday and Thursday, resulting in the most significant 24-hour rainfall much of the region has seen in many years, also shattering historic records in some parts of Riverside and San Diego Counties. Significant flash flooding occurred in many areas, combined with high winds causing damage to roads and property. At least two fatalities in Riverside County were directly linked to the storm.

The first wave of moisture arrived around noon Wednesday, however this was short-lived. Additional rain entered the region Wednesday evening, with the bulk of the heaviest precipitation beginning around midnight. Particularly high rainfall rates began spiking in excess of 1.50 inches per hour at numerous WeatherCurrents stations Thursday morning, along with a reported rainfall rate of 2.5 inches per hour in Temecula Valley's Wine Country (courtesy of Jim Sappington). This particularly heavy rainfall was persistent and carried on well into Thursday afternoon, finally departing to the east Thursday evening. Due to the warm, tropical nature of the storm, snow levels remained high above 9,000 feet above sea level.

Precipitation totals from the storm were mostly between 2 and 6 inches in the WeatherCurrents network, with most of the precipitation having fallen Thursday. West-facing mountain slopes and foothills benefited substantially from orographic lift during the storm. Many stations broke all-time 24-hour rainfall records Thursday, particularly the WeatherCurrents stations of De Luz, Fallbrook, Temecula, Lake Elsinore, and Anza - all locations where precipitation totals exceeded 4 and 5 inches Thursday alone. De Luz recorded the highest two-day total in the WeatherCurrents network, netting an impressive 5.94 inches. This was followed by Lake Elsinore with 5.59 inches, South Temecula with 5.52 inches, Anza with 5.02 inches, South Fallbrook with 4.98 inches, East Hemet with 4.40 inches, and northwest Murrieta with 4.17 inches. In Temecula Valley's Wine Country, a grand total of 6.24 inches was reported (courtesy of Jim Sappington) - an even higher total than De Luz. In East Highland, a total of 3.94 inches was reported (courtesy of Peter Michas). In nearby Yucaipa, a total of 3.60 inches was reported (courtesy of Don Kramer).

Less rain fell in locations north of Los Angeles. In Pinon Hills, located in the northern San Gabriel Mountains facing Antelope Valley, a total of 1.94 inches was recorded. Simi Valley, which often ranks high in WeatherCurrents storm totals, received the lowest storm total Thursday - a mere 1.33 inches. The cities of Perris, Moreno Valley and Riverside (Presidential Park) received more rain, however still ranked low in storm totals this week, all having recorded less than 3 inches of rain.

The storm drenched an already very wet region this month, also bolstering season totals. Across the WeatherCurrents network, season totals following Thursday's storm had exceeded their entire season averages at all active WeatherCurrents stations. In Temecula and De Luz, current season totals are more than double their average season-to-date values. In Temecula, where records date back to 1999, February 2019 now ranks as the wettest February of all-time and second-wettest month on record, behind December 2010. These season totals are expected to continue rising as more rain falls Friday night, along with several more storms forecast within the upcoming week.

Here are the rain totals for the WeatherCurrents network and associates: