Rains Come Down, Los Angeles River Rises [Video]

The rains won't be going away today, or Saturday.

But, since Los Angeles is about three inches behind in rainfall for the year, it's a good thing that there's some rain.

The Studio City Weather Center, run by  

The National Weather Service forecast for tonight is: 

Rain likely, mainly after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

The National Weather Service warned of hydroplaning and California Highway Patrol Officer Ed Jacobs said there was about a two-thirds increase in the number of accidents in various areas of the freeway system coinciding with the morning rains, but that no serious injuries had been reported.

   "Hopefully, there won't be," Jacobs said.

NWS forecasters also warned of the possibility of urban flooding in low-lying areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. No serious flooding was reported overnight in Los Angeles County, according to the Los Angeles city and
county fire departments.

A few baseball-sized rocks were in the road along Mulholland Drive between Laurel Canyon Boulevard and the Cahuenga Pass, but nothing that blocked traffic.

The wet weather, resulting from subtropical moisture drifting north from Baja California and combining with a trough of low pressure, is expected to persist through Sunday, according to the NWS.

There could be between a half-inch and three-quarters of an inch of rain along the coast and in the valleys, and up to to two inches in some parts of the San Gabriel Mountains, said NWS Meteorologist Curt Kaplan.

Today's rainfall is likely to coincide with the morning and afternoon commutes, according to NWS forecasters, who set the chance of precipitation at 50 percent today, 70 percent Friday, 40 percent Saturday and 20 percent Sunday.

City New Service contributed to this report.