Car Crashes Soar in Los Angeles During First Rain

The California High Patrol reported 404 accidents within the 24-hour period ending early Thursday morning

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David McNew / Getty Images

Morning traffic fills the SR2 freeway in Los Angeles, California.

The first storm of the rainy season produced 404 car accidents in the Los Angeles area during a single, 24-hr. period between 5 a.m. Wednesday and 5 a.m. Thursday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

That number is 55 percent higher than during the same 24-hour period a week prior, when there were just 260 accidents, the Los Angeles Times reports. California Highway Patrol Officer Ming Hsu attributed the uptick to the slick, unfamiliar driving conditions, but it rained only half an inch in some L.A. county areas, while downtown and coastal regions saw less than a tenth of an inch.

[Los Angeles Times]