The National Weather Service monitor at LB Airport had already recorded rain at a rate of nearly a third of an inch per hour for two hours, followed by another inch of rain within one hour, when an extremely strong rain cell arrived. Thin but wide, it passed across virtually the entire city, traveling from southwest to northeast.

For LBREPORT.com video coverage, click here.

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Screen save from video by Jeri Morales

Chestnut Ave./20th St. Photo credit: Matthew Wix.

A 40 foot dock broke loose from Belmont Pier. Photo via City of Long Beach

In the 4 p.m. hour Feb. 17, the National Weather Service issued a Special Marine Warning. Shortly before 5 p.m., the agency issued a Flash Flood Warning extending from Long Beach inland toward Los Angeles.

LBREPORT.com NWS screen save, 5:09 p.m. Feb. 17, 2017)

Within an eight minute period from 4:45 p.m. to 4:53 p.m., LB Airport recorded 0.37" inches of rain (a rate of roughly 2.5" per hour), and over the next 18 minutes, another 0.52" fell, producing 0.89" between 4:45 p.m. and 5:11 p.m. (a rate of nearly 2.0" per hour).

Hourly totals (source: National Weather Service monitor at LGB, roughly at the city's center)

• 12:53 p.m. to 1:53 p.m. = 0.07"
• 1:53 p.m. to 2:53 p.m. = 0.31"
• 2:53 p.m. to 3:53 p.m. = 0.30"
• 3:53 p.m. to 4:53 p.m. = 1.02"
• 4:53 p.m. to 5:53 p.m. = 0.63"
• 5:53 p.m. to 6:53 p.m. = 0.12"

In other words, Long Beach was hit by 2.26" of rain within a four hour period between 1:53 p.m. and 5:53 p.m. Calculated within different time frames: between 3:53 p.m. and 6:53 p.m. = 1.77", and between 3:53 p.m. and 9:53 p.m. = 2.04"

Less than a month ago on Jan. 22, 2017, LB Airport received 0.55" of rain for one hour, followed by two hours of 0.96" in each hour, totaling 2.47" of rain within 3 hours.

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The storm also brought 20-30 mph winds recorded at LB Airport. Trees fell in multiple neighborhoods, palm tree fronds flew along Ximeno Ave. between Los Coyotes Diagonal and PCH...and onto Millikan High's south lawn adjacent to its parking lot.

Wardlow Rd. across from Wardlow Park. Photo credit: Monica Santiesteban

Photo credit: Monica Santiesteban

Photo credit: Diana Lejins

Photo credit: Diana Lejins

At late afternoon, the City closed all Long Beach parks citywide due to falling trees and tree limbs. Photo below shows one casualty in El Dorado Park.

In some neighborhoods, trees fell onto power lines, triggering neighborhood power outages.

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Once the unusually strong cell passed, most streets began draining fairly quickly...but some still had water at higher than normal levels into the 6:00 p.m. hour and in some cases beyond.

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By way of context, this was a region-impacting deluge. It left at least four people dead in parts of So. Cal.

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