Wet weather returns by mid week

(Water vapor imagery)

A storm system located over the eastern Pacific will bring a return to wet weather to the southland beginning late Tuesday and continuing through Wednesday.

Along with rain will be gusty winds... especially over the mountains and deserts.

Preliminary rainfall forecasts...
Coastal plain & valleys: 0.25 to 0.75"
Mountains and adjacent foothills: 1 to 2"
High deserts: 0.10 to 0.20"
Low deserts: 0.05" or less

The snow level over the northern mountains will range from 6,000 to 7,000 feet during the duration of the precipitation event.

The potential does exist for moderate amounts of snow accumulation above 7,000'.

Drought update - as of March 25th, 2008

Much of the coastal plain has near normal conditions... except abnormally dry conditions in Orange county, Inland Empire and the deserts.

Lights out for mother earth!

At 8 p.m. on March 29, millions of people around the world will turn off their lights to celebrate Earth Hour.

Learn more about Earth hour at...
http://www.earthhour.org

Sneezing + itchy eyes = high pollen levels

(Blooming flowers - Catalina Island)

The southland is experiencing high pollen levels primarly due to the following treen pollens...
Mulberry, Cedar/Juniper, Sweetgum and ash.

No change in these levels are expected through early next week.

Note: the highest pollen levels are being recorded in Santa Barbara county, Antelope Valley, and the coastal plain/valleys of San Diego county.

Looking ahead...
There is some hope for some slight relief early-mid week as there will be a chance of showers. This will hold pollen levels in the short term... but in the long term... the rains will only serve to enhance pollen levels in the coming weeks.

Cool, onshore flow to continue

(Low clouds over San Diego)

Onshore flow with an occasional coastal eddy will bring areas low clouds and fog to the coastal plain... at time spreading into coastal valleys the next several days.

The onshore flow will bring cool temperatures with daytime highs in the 60s at the coast and upper 60s to the middle 70s in the farthest inland valley locations.

Meanwhile... a strong upper low pressure system may bring some rain to the southland come Tuesday and Wednesday... Stay tuned!

Cool temperatures through the end of the week

(Satellite Imagery - FOG)

A series of weak system will pass north of the region, resulting in cooler temperatures through Friday along with gusty winds over the mountains and deserts.

High temperatures Wednesday afternoon will range from the 60s along the coastal plain to the upper 60s to the middle 70s in the valleys.

Cooler temperatures!

(Hazy spring morning - San Diego/Coronado)

Cooler temperatures and a shallow marine layer is hugging the coastal plain Tuesday morning... this will give way to hazy afternoon sunshine.

Temperatures across the coastal plain will range from the middle 60s at the beaches to the middle 70s inland

The valleys will see afternoon temperatures in the 70s.

Onshore flow returns this week

(Downtown San Diego)

After record breaking warmth over the holiday weekend... temperatures will be on decline this week... as an onshore flow returns.

Temperatures on Monday will range from the upper 60s to the middle 70s at the beaches to the 80s in the interior valleys... upper 70s to the lower 80s for mid city LA.

An increase in the marine layer will be noted Tuesday morning...especially along the coastal plain.

Temperatures on Tuesday will be as much as 10 degrees cooler than they will be on Monday.

Happy Easter!

(Catalina Island as viewed from Newport Beach)

Record breaking warmth across the southland on Easter Sunday as the region continues to be under an the influence of an offshore flow.

Temperatures are expected to reach into the lower 90s in the valleys with forecast high temperatures around 90 in mid city LA and inland OC.

The beaches will likely see high temperatures in the upper 60s and 70s

It will be breezy to locally windy at times... especially in areas through and below passes and canyons in LA/Ventura and southern Santa Barbara counties.

Otherwise... winds will be light & variable under 10 mph.

Relief from the warm temperatures is on the way by mid week as a trough of low pressure sets up over the western U.S... returning the southland to an onshore flow of cool temperatures and the gloom!

Only 38 days to the return of the May Gray!!! The best time of year in southern California.

Warm, early spring weekend

Off shore flow will make for a warm, sunny holiday weekend for the southland.

Gusty winds over the northern mountains and valleys... with locally breezy conditions at times along portions of the northern coastal plain (Palos Verdes, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica mountains, Hollywood Hills... etc).

Some morning stratus and fog is possible along the immediate coast from OC southward.

The warmest day of the weekend will likely be on Sunday with temperatures reaching into the middle 80s in Downtown LA and possibly lower 90s in the valleys.

Sneak peak at April

Temperatures:
Below normal for the coastal plain/valleys
Near normal for the mountains/deserts

Precipitation:
Below normal for all locations of SoCal

Gloomy first day of Spring

(La Jolla)

A trough will continue to produce an onshore flow of cool, gloomy weather for the first full day of spring on Thursday.

Morning clouds and fog will give way to partial afternoon hazy sunshine.

Temperatures for the most part will be in the upper 60s to the lower 70s with upper 70s in the far interior valleys.

Slightly cooler weather pattern

(Santa Monica Pier)

An increasing onshore flow will result in slightly cooler temperatures and a deepening of the marine layer through Thursday.

The holiday weekend still looks to be on the warm side as high pressure establishes itself over the region.

Peak at the upcoming holiday weekend

(Redondo Beach)

A weak off shore will prevail over the southland this weekend.

Look for mostly sunny skies with mild temperatures.

It appears that Sunday will be the warmest of the weekend.

Flood Awareness Week (March 17th-21st, 2008)

(Early am rain - March 16th, 2008)

NOAA's/NWS has declared this week Flood Safety Awareness week.

Even through flooding can occur any time of the year in Southern California... the peak months for flooding are during the winter rainy months... December through March... then again during the late summer months (Monsoon season).

Learn more on the dangers of Flooding at the NWS Flood safety website.

Looking back in time...

(Anaheim)

On this day in...
1986: Heavy rain and snow that started on 3.15 and ended on this day caused mud slides along the coast in Orange County. Three feet of snow fell in the San Bernardino Mountains. On this day a tornado in Anaheim near Disneyland caused property damage.

1982: A storm that started on this day and ended on 3.18 produced two to four inches of rain in San Diego County. Local flooding closed many streets.

1977: A tornado skipped from Fullerton to Brea, injuring four and causing damage to 80 homes.

How did the winter of 2007-08 stack up for California?

(Early am sky scene - March 13th, 2008)

Winter of 2007-08 was the 27th coldest winter on record for California.

Additionally... this was only the 70th wettest winter since records began in the late 1800's in the golden state.

As we stand now...

(Morning high clouds: March 13th, 2008)

Rainfall for the season (so far)
Note: Rainy season began on Jul. 1st, 2007)

Downtown Los Angeles:
So far: 13.37"
Departure: 1.01"

Lancaster:
So far: 5.21"
Departure: 0.97"

Fullerton:
So far: 10.23"
Departure: 1.18"

Oceanside Airport:
So far: 13.77"
Departure: N/A

This weekend...
A cold "Gulf of Alaska" storm system will drop south over the southland bringing a chance of showers and isolated thunderstorms.

This system is rather moisture starved... so rainfall amounts will generally be one-tenth of an inch or less over LA/VTU/SBA and SBP counties.

0.10 to 0.25" over ORA/SAN/SBD and RIV counties with locally higher amounts over the mountain slopes.

On this day...

(Coronado Island)

March 13th, 1998:
During a period that started on this day and ended on March 14th, numerous waterspouts occurred between Long Beach, Huntington Beach and Catalina Island.

Funnel clouds were also observed in Phelan and Hesperia.

Note:
There will be a chance of thunderstorms over the coastal plain and adjacent coastal waters this weekend... with the possibility of waterspouts.

80 years ago... March 12th, 1928

(San Fernando Valley)

On March 12, 1928, one of California's worst catastrophes occurred. The St. Francis Dam broke (was located 9 miles from Saugus).

Huge torrents of water washed down the San Francesquito Canyon, killing many on the way. The official body count was estimated at 450 dead, which is only slightly less then the famous 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. The actual number was substantially higher, since San Francisquito Canyon was the home to hundreds of transients and illegal immigrants that were never accounted for.

After the dam broke, the water took 5 1/2 hours for the water to reach the ocean. At times, there was a wall of water as high as 140 feet. 900 buildings were destroyed.

Learn more about more about this distaster... by visiting these websites...
http://seis.natsci.csulb.edu/VIRTUAL_FIELD/Francesquito_Dam/franmain.htm

http://web.mst.edu/~rogersda/st_francis_dam/

http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/sg031101.htm

http://www.sespe.com/damdisaster/

Use the 5 Freeway north until you come across the 14 Freeway in Sylmar. Take the 14 north for a mile or two until you reach Highway 126 (also called San Fernando Road). Take this road north or east for about 5 miles.

After five miles, you should be in the town Saugus. Head north out of Saugus on Bouquet Canyon Road. Continue on Bouquet Canyon Road for less then a mile, when you should reach San Francisquito Road. Turn left on this road, and continue for about 3-4 miles. The former dam site is about a mile beyond a public swimming pool, and a powerhouse.

Building surf late in the week

(Santa Monica)

A large trough over the northeastern Pacific has generated a large southwest swell.

It's expected to reach the southern California coast late Wednesday/early Thursday morning along the LA/Ventura and Santa Barbara county coast and Thursday afternoon along the Orange and San Diego county shore.

This swell will have the most impact on the exposed southwest facing beaches.

There also will be an increasing threat of rip currents.

These conditions are expected to continue through at least Friday.

75 years ago... March 10th, 1933

Magnitude 6.4 earthquake shook the Long Beach area (just before 6 pm) on Friday, March 10th, 1933.

The earthquake resulted in...

* Over 120 persons dead

* Every public school in Long Beach was reduced to rubble

* Rupture oil derricks burned out of control in Signal Hill

* Masonry structures lay in ruins from Huntington Beach to Inglewood.


This particular earthquake resulted new building codes in California to better withstand the force of earthquakes.

With in weeks of the 1993 Long Beach quake... buildings all across the state were being strengthened.

SoCal drought update

Sections of the OC and IE experiencing abnormally dry conditions along the deserts.
Elsewhere... near normal conditions.

Answer to yesterday's question "What famous person came up with the idea of Daylight Savings Time".

The answer is Benjamin Franklin

Spring ahead early!

Don't forget to set your clocks ahead 1 hour before turning in tonight...as Daylight
Savings time gets a 3 week head start this year at 2 am Sunday morning.

Oh... by the way...

What famous person had the original idea of Daylight Savings time?

1) Thomas Jefferson

2) George Washington

3) Benjamin Franklin

4) Alexander Graham Bell

The answer tomorrow!!!

Fair weather this weekend

(Latest Infrared Satellite Imagery)

High pressure will be the dominate weather feature affecting the weather across the southland this weekend.

What to expect...
Mostly sunny except for some high clouds from time-to-time along with mild temperatures.

An increase in the offshore winds are possible Saturday night & Sunday over the valleys and mountains... possibly reaching "advisory levels" on Sunday.

Temperatures will remain mild with the warmest temps on Sunday with the off shore flow.

Have a good weekend!

The desert in bloom with color

If your looking for something different to do this weekend... head out to the desert, as the spring wildflowers are full bloom.

This due to the rainfall during January and February then followed by the warm temperatures.

Here is a few hot spots for color this weekend...

1) Joshua Tree National Park (east of Palm Springs)

2) Coachella Valley (Palm Springs area)

3) Anza-Borrego State Park (eastern San Diego county desert)

4) Mojave National Reserve (eastern San Bernardino county)

5) Death Valley


Detailed road map (which has all 5 locations)

In for a dry spell

(GFS model - Precipt. forecast through March 21st, 2008)

As indicated in the above graphic along with other model forecasts... the southland is in for an extended period of dry weather for the next couple of weeks.

Through early next week...
A northwest flow will prevail into the early part of next week.

This will result in a fair weather pattern... except weak "eddy circulations" will continue the shallow marine layer along the coast...and at times extending inland to some of the coastal valleys.

From time-to-time... gusty off shore winds will blow through and below the passes and canyons... due to high pressure systems moving to our northeast.

Weak onshore flow to develop tonight through Thursday

(San Gabriel mountains at sunset)

A shallow marine layer is forecast to develop during the late night and morning hours (tonight through Thursday)

The marine layer will be limited to the coastal plain.
At times... visibilities will briefly be reduced to 1/4 mile or less... mainly along the Orange and San Diego county shore.

With the weak on shore flow... temperatures will cool 3 to 5 degrees on Wednesday from Tuesday along the coastal plain... but remaining about the same in the valleys... due to the lack of influence from the "eddy circulation".

Winds to diminish Monday afternoon

(Monday's weather map)

Updated at: 1:39pm/pst, Monday, March 3rd, 2008

Winds have diminished by early Monday afternoon will become light and variable over much of southern California by nightfall.

Look for a clear and cool evening and overnight with temperatures dipping into the 40s over the most coastal and valley locations... with even some middle to upper 30s in the interior valleys of Ventura county.

February 2008 Rewind

(Downtown LA - as viewed from WB 10 FWY)

The following are a few statistics from February 2008

Downtown Los Angeles:
Highest temperature: 83 on the 9th
Lowest temperature: 41 on the 5th

Total rainfall: 1.64"
Departure from nortmal: -2.04

Ontario Airport:
Highest temperature: 81 on the 9th and 12th
Lowest temperature: 37 on the 16th

Total rainfall: 1.54"
Departure from normal: -1.88"

California mountain snowpack

(Snow Summit Ski Resort)

Much of California's summer water comes from mountain snow that begins to melt in the late spring.

Water officials consider April 1st the peak of snow accumulation in the California mountains.

The following are the snow/water equivalent as of Wednesday, February 27th, 2008

Northern California: 31"/108% of the April 1st average
Central California: 29"/95% of the April 1st average
Southern California: 28"/109% of the April 1st average
Statewide: 29"/102% of the April 1st average