The practice field at UCLA was completely flooded prior to college football practice earlier this week. Los Angeles is not prepared for rain.
It was a hilarious visual even though there is an explanation for the drainage failure.
Threat of severe weather creates widespread panic across Southern California. Students in Westwood did not know what to do and the Bruins had to move over to the turf.
Rain creates panic and flooding in Los Angeles.
The greater Los Angeles area only gets about 30 days of rain annually, less than 10% of the calendar year. It is most common during the rainy season between December and February.
Although it is not unusual to get a steady drizzle or constant sprinkle over the course of a few days, thunderstorms are pretty uncommon. Two or three a year.
Thus, Los Angelenos are not prepared for precipitation. People freak out as though the sky is falling. Nobody knows what to do or how to act. For example:
Students at UCLA rode cardboard boxes down the rain-soaked grass in the quad:
Others braved the elements for donuts:
Shoes, socks and the bottoms of pants were not safe from the water as streets and sidewalks flooded.
It was equally as beautiful on campus as it was chaotic.
However, it was only chaos for the football team.
UCLA’s college football practice field was completely soaked.
The Bruins are one of the hottest teams in the country. UCLA started at 0-4 with losses to Utah, UNLV, New Mexico, and Northwestern. A massive upset win over Penn State and a blowout victory at Michigan State completely changed the course of the season. It could technically still win the Big Ten.
Maryland is up next. The Bruins will host the Terrapins in Westwood on Saturday.
They were forced to move their practice to the intramural field on Tuesday.
The newly-renovated practice field was completely under water.
There was no way to play so UCLA moved to the nearby turf.
Not sure you can practice on this without a massive dry vac or squeegee. pic.twitter.com/0sAa2NWtFz
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) October 14, 2025
Although it is funny to laugh at a Los Angeles school that wasn’t prepared for rain, the university claims the drainage issues are fairly common for a new field. It just needs time to settle for better drainage.
Things were trending in the right direction just a few hours after the rain had stopped.
Looks like this is accurate as the field is draining better already. pic.twitter.com/uq4yrGH357
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) October 14, 2025
The practice field was good to go on Wednesday morning.
Back to 75º and sunny! Los Angeles is not prepared for rain.