Shortly after students headed home for winter break Southern California was drenched by record rainfall. In one week of December the region received more rainfall than in the prior 11 months combined. A section of the Pacific Coast Highway north of Yerba Buena Road was closed Dec. 18 due to mud and rockslides and remained closed until early this month while workers cleared the road and blasted remaining loose rock from the cliffs above. In spite of the damage caused in the surrounding area Pepperdine’s campus remained largely undamaged by the torrential rainfall.
While many Pepperdine students were no longer on campus by the time the worst of the rain hit all students in the southwest United States were affected by the freak weather pattern. In California meteorologists recorded average rainfall levels of 5 to 10 inches at sea level and an average of 10 to 18 inches at higher elevations; much higher totals were recorded in certain places. Then Gov. Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in nine counties calling for the evacuation of residents from high-risk areas.
With damage estimates reaching into the millions of dollars from mud and water damage Pepperdine is quite likely to have escaped the most serious effects of the storm. Authorities warn that the worst may be yet to come as the normally dry California soil is now saturated with water increasing the likelihood of further damage if severe weather returns before the state has a chance to dry out.
According to the National Weather Service the “Pineapple Express which brings tropical rains from Hawaii, is to blame for the state’s unusually high precipitation totals for December. A drier season had been expected due to the La Niña weather pattern existing in the Pacific Ocean. Meteorologists hope La Niña will take over, giving the soil time to dry and workers time to repair the damage.