California Weather/ Climate

[Guest happ]

California’s Drought Ranks Worst in at Least 1,200 Years

 

By Tom Randall - Bloomberg

 

Record rains fell in California this week. They're not enough to change the course of what scientists are now calling the region's worst drought in at least 1,200 years.

Just how bad has California's drought been? Modern measurements already showed it's been drier than the 1930s dustbowl, worse than the historic droughts of the 1970s and 1980s. But new research shows it's even worse than we thought. The last time California experienced a drought this bad predates Viking conquests in Europe.

To put the drought in its historical context, researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and the University of Minnesota consulted one of the longest records available: tree rings. Tighter rings mean drier years, and by working with California's exceptionally old trees they were able to reconstruct a chronology of drought in southern and central California. They identified 37 droughts that lasted three years or more going back to the year 800.

None were as extreme as the conditions we're seeing now.

One of the oddities of this drought is that conditions aren't just driven by a lack of rainfall. There have been plenty of droughts in the past with less precipitation. (The drought of 1527 to 1529, for example, was killer.) What makes this drought exception is the heat. Arid soil conditions today have been compounded by heat. Extreme heat.

Higher temperatures increase evaporation and help deplete reservoirs and groundwater. The California heat this year is like nothing ever seen in modern temperature records. The chart above shows average year-to-date temperatures in the state from January through October for each year since 1895.

The drought has withered pastures and forced farmers to uproot orchards and fallow farmland. The drought may cost California $2.2 billion this year, with 17,100 jobs lost and 428,000 acres of land left unplanted. Tensions are still running high between farmers and salmon fishers, who rely on the same waters. Young salmon even qualified for migration assistance this year -- via tanker truck -- when river levels were too low to make the swim.

The effects of prolonged drought are cumulative. Maps from the U.S. Drought Monitor below show the worsening of conditions over the last three years.

More than half of the state remains in "exceptional drought" (crimson). It's a distinction marked by crop and pasture losses and water shortages that fall within the top two percentiles. Record rainfalls recorded across the state, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, did little to overcome the state's moisture deficit, the National Drought Mitigation Center reported yesterday.

The tree-ring study, published this week by the American Geophysical Union, combined recent tree-ring samples with a longer tree-ring database known as the North American Drought Atlas developed by scientists at Columbia University. The study compares precipitation measurements as well as soil-moisture estimates known as the Palmer Drought Severity Index.

Three years isn't extremely unusual for a California drought. It happens roughly every three decades, according to the tree-ring study. But the accumulated severity of the last three years outweighs any periods that have come before -- even dry spells lasting up to nine years.

California's "hot drought" is also a bad sign of times to come, according to the study's authors. The role of man-made climate change in the current drought is undetermined, they wrote, but as the planet continues to warm, more hot droughts "are assured."

There's no sign yet that this drought is coming to an end. The region's rainy season has started strong, but there's still a lot of catch-up to do. More than a year's supply of water has gone missing in the state's reservoirs.

It could take several unusually wet years to get things back to normal in California. The tree-ring study found that roughly half of the state's three-year droughts turn into four-year droughts.

[Guest happ]

All eyes [at least in California] are on the developing low in the Gulf of Alaska that should produce another good soaking later in the week w/ perhaps another system early next week.  Great

 

80 / 55

[Dan the Weatherman]

All eyes [at least in California] are on the developing low in the Gulf of Alaska that should produce another good soaking later in the week w/ perhaps another system early next week.  Great

 

80 / 55

That would certainly be good news if both of those systems verify as forecast. The computer models have been fairly consistent in predicting this storm over the last few days, as they were with the last event, which raises confidence in that it will actually pan out.

 

It really has been nice to turn off my sprinklers for a while (I did it before this last storm) and will likely not have to use them for a while yet! Meanwhile I am also collecting rainwater to water my potted plants, which is really good for the plants because it is more acidic than tap water. Tap water is made more alkaline so that it doesn't corrode the pipes.

[Guest happ]

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA
125 PM PST TUE DEC 9 2014

CAZ068-069-101200-
/O.UPG.KSTO.WS.A.0008.141211T0200Z-141213T0200Z/
/O.NEW.KSTO.BZ.W.0001.141211T0600Z-141212T2100Z/
WESTERN PLUMAS COUNTY/LASSEN PARK-
WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA-
125 PM PST TUE DEC 9 2014

...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM WEDNESDAY TO 1 PM PST
FRIDAY ABOVE 6000 FEET...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SACRAMENTO HAS ISSUED A BLIZZARD
WARNING ABOVE 6000 FEET...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM WEDNESDAY
TO 1 PM PST FRIDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN
EFFECT.

* IMPACTS:EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. PASSES MAY
  CLOSE FOR SEVERAL HOURS.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: 10 TO 20 INCHES ABOVE 6000 FEET WITH 2 TO 3
  FEET OR MORE POSSIBLE ALONG THE CREST.

* TIMING: SNOW WILL BEGIN LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY
  MORNING AND CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY. THE PERIOD OF HEAVIEST SNOW
  IS EXPECTED THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND THURSDAY NIGHT. THE STRONGEST
  WINDS ARE EXPECTED WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY.

* SNOW LEVELS: SNOW LEVELS WILL INITIALLY BE ABOVE 6500 FEET LATE
  WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY...LOWERING TO 4500 TO 5500 FEET THURSDAY
  NIGHT INTO FRIDAY.

* WIND: SOUTHERLY WINDS 25 TO 50 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 80 MPH OR
  HIGHER WILL DEVELOP WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY. WINDS
  DECREASE BY FRIDAY MORNING.

* LOCATIONS INCLUDE: LASSEN NATIONAL PARK...DONNER PASS...
  ECHO SUMMIT...CARSON PASS.

* FOR A DETAILED VIEW OF THE HAZARD AREA...VISIT
  HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SACRAMENTO/HAZARDS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS
AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT
CONDITIONS...MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL. IF
YOU MUST TRAVEL...HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET
STRANDED...STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.

&&

INTERACT WITH US VIA SOCIAL MEDIA
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NWS.SACRAMENTO
WWW.TWITTER.COM/NWSSACRAMENTO

 

[Guest happ]

Agree that if this pattern holds for several more months California could be out of the drought.  NOAA has identified improving drought conditions over SoCal.  Grass is popping up everywhere.

 

78 / 57

[halofromajo]

Agree that if this pattern holds for several more months California could be out of the drought.  NOAA has identified improving drought conditions over SoCal.  Grass is popping up everywhere.

 

78 / 57

Unfortunately, this pattern will dry up after the system following this.  But have no fear, it will return.  The subtropical high moving east from the gulf of Mexico is going to cut off the subtropical jet feeding these pacific systems, but I THINK it will return sometime in January setting up another good round of storms to pound CA.  Just a theory though.

[Guest happ]

Checking 10am conditions shows that Seattle is as warm as Los Angeles; how often does that happen in December?

 

65

[Guest happ]

NWS_SAN FRANCISCO

 

 

NOW TO THE DETAILS...
  
  MAIN PACIFIC LOW AROUND 550 MILES WEST OF SEATTLE CONTINUES TO
  STRENGTHEN THIS HOUR WITH A CENTRAL PRESSURE NOW DOWN TO 968 MB
  (COMPARED TO AROUND 975 MB JUST THREE HOURS AGO). ALONG AN
  ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT AN INTENSE AREA OF LOW PRESSURE -- POSSIBLY
  DOWN TO 973 MB -- WILL FORM AND HEAD TOWARD THE NORCAL/OREGON
  COASTAL AREA BY THURSDAY. THIS SECOND LOW WILL PRODUCE A VERY
  TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT (UP TO 15 MB FROM SFO TO ACV) HELPING TO
  INCREASE SOUTHERLY WINDS THROUGH THE DAY. AT THE SAME TIME VERY
  MOIST (PW VALUES POSSIBLY IN EXCESS OF 1.50 INCHES) WILL BECOME
  ENTRAINED IN THE FLOW AND TAKE DIRECT AIM ALONG THE COAST.
  STEPPING BACK AND LOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE JUST AT THE PW IS
  IMPRESSIVE AS IT CAN BE TRACED FAR TO THE WEST OF HAWAII WITH ITS
  DIRECT AIM RIGHT THROUGH OUR CWA. IN ADDITION...IT SHOWS NO SIGN
  OF DISSIPATING AS IT FOLLOWS THE FRONT TO THE SOUTH. KEEP IN MIND
  THAT PW VALUES THIS HIGH ARE AT THE 99TH PERCENTILE FOR DECEMBER
  AROUND HERE. OTHER PARAMETERS ARE JUST AS IMPRESSIVE INCLUDING
  THE ISENTROPIC FLOW AN AMAZING 60 TO 80 KTS FROM THE SW. ALL
  SIGNS POINT TO A BIG 1 DAY RAIN EVENT FOR OUR ENTIRE CWA.
  RAINFALL TOTALS FOR THURSDAY SHOULD BE GENERALLY 1.5 TO 3 INCHES
  FOR URBAN SPOTS SOUTH OF THE NORTH BAY WITH LOCALLY 4 INCHES
  POSSIBLE. FOR THE NORTH BAY PLUS OTHER COASTAL RANGES 4 TO 6
  INCHES ARE FORECAST WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS TO 8 INCHES. THE BIG THING
  TO REMEMBER IS MUCH OF THE RAIN WILL FALL AS THE FRONT GOES
  THROUGH SO RAIN RATES WILL BE VERY HIGH FOR AN HOUR OR TWO. THIS
  WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL HYDRO CONCERNS.
  
  FOR THE WINDS ALL OF THE GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO REMAIN VERY
  BULLISH WITH 925 MB SPEEDS 50 TO 70 KTS IN MOST LOCATIONS AS THE
  FRONT GOES THROUGH. JUST GOING OFF THE RAW ARW SURFACE SPEEDS
  SHOWS 30 TO 40 KT FOR MOST SPOTS. WOULD EXPECT URBAN LOCATIONS ON
  THURSDAY TO SEE WINDS OF 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH.
  HIGHER ELEVATION LOCATIONS COULD EASILY SEE GUSTS WELL OVER 70
  MPH DURING THE FRONTAL PASSAGE.
  
  FINALLY...WORTH NOTING THAT CONVECTIVE PARAMETERS ARE A BIT MORE
  FAVORABLE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WITH THE FRONTAL PASSAGE. IN
  ADDITION...THE VERY WARM BUOYS TEMPERATURES WILL HELP TO CREATE A
  MORE UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE WHICH WOULD HELP WITH STORM DEVELOPMENT.
  IF WE END UP GETTING A THUNDERSTORM OVER AN URBAN AREA AS THE
  FRONT GOES THROUGH IT WOULD LIKELY LEAD TO A PERIOD OF EXTREMELY
  HEAVY RAIN AND VERY STRONG WINDS LEADING TO ADDITIONAL HYDRO
  PROBLEMS. THIS WILL NEED TO BE VERY CLOSELY WATCHED ON THURSDAY.
  
  RAIN WILL SWITCH OVER TO SHOWERS BY THURSDAY NIGHT WITH A
  SLIGHTLY BETTER CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS AS MORE UNSTABLE AIR
  MOVES ACROSS. ALTHOUGH OVERALL RAINFALL NUMBERS WILL BE LESS WE
  COULD STILL PICK UP ANOTHER HALF AND INCH TO AND INCH IN SPOTS
  WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS UP TO 1.5 INCHES.
  
  DRY AND NICER WEATHER IS FORECAST FOR SATURDAY AND MOST OF SUNDAY
  BEFORE ANOTHER SYSTEM MOVES BACK INTO OUR AREA. ALTHOUGH THIS
  WILL BE A FAR CRY FROM WHAT WE WILL SEE ON THURSDAY THE MODELS
  ARE DEFINITELY TRENDING WETTER WITH IT COMPARED TO LAST NIGHT. IN
  FACT THE ECMWF DEPICTS A GOOD PUNCH OF RAIN FOLLOWED BY A DAY OR
  TWO OF ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AS A SECOND LONGWAVE TROF QUICKLY
  FOLLOWS BEHIND THE STORM. WITH MANY SOILS EXPECTED TO BE
  SATURATED FROM THE THURSDAY STORM THIS EXTRA SHOT COULD PRODUCE
  SOME HYDRO ISSUES.
  
  ANOTHER SYSTEM MAY IMPACT OUR AREA AT THE END OF NEXT WEEK.
  
  BOTTOM LINE...NOW IS THE TIME TO PREPARE BEFORE THE STORM ON
  THURSDAY. THIS WILL LIKELY BE ONE OF THE STRONGEST THAT WE HAVE
  HAD IN THE PAST TEN YEARS. PREPARATIONS SHOULD BE MADE ASAP. 
  
 

[Dan the Weatherman]

NOAA Forecast Discussion:AND THEN ITS GAME ON. A DEEP COLD LARGE HONKING UPPER LOW (510 DM    300 MILES NW OF SEATTLE WILL DOMINATE SRN CA WEATHER THROUGH FRIDAY. 

____________

Hmm, is "honking" one of those specialized technical meteorological terms?

 

I just noticed that the 9 a.m. update was worded much less emotively.  Too bad, really -- I kind of get a kick out of it when a government drone cuts loose and takes a walk on the wild side.

 

That must be Rorke from the L.A. / Oxnard office (I can't remember his first name offhand). He can get pretty creative in his use of words at times in his AFDs. The 9 a.m. update was likely done by a different forecaster as Rorke often works the late shift.

[Dan the Weatherman]

Checking 10am conditions shows that Seattle is as warm as Los Angeles; how often does that happen in December?

 

65

I would say that is a pretty rare event, and would be most likely to occur when Seattle is experiencing a Pineapple Express (atmospheric river event).

[BLI snowman]

Very impressive rains in the SF Bay Area, today. 4.29" so far in Santa Rosa and 2.87" at SFO, and it still looks like a few more hours to go. The winds there underachieved but the rain sure didn't.

[Alan]

Rain trying to switch to snow here. 34F

[Alan]

Ok it's snowing! Heavy wet wind driven snow.

[Guest happ]

I'm sure some records have been broken and glad that Central Ca is soaked.  There was a heavy shower around 4am w/ 1.40 as of 8am.  Wind knocked over outdoor furniture/ plants.  I think SoCal escaped w/o too much mud w/ some flooding up in the Bay Area/ delta.  Looking forward to data/ summaries.

 

It is finally starting to feel like winter

 

53F current & lowest temp

[Guest happ]

At around 2 p.m., a small but productive shower popped up right over my area and added 0.28" to what is now a storm total of 2.27".

 

I was also in the line of passing cells later this morning/ afternoon that dropped heavy showers and boosting the storm total to: 2.25".

 

All in all a very productive event aside from the usual hydrologic issues across the state. 

 

61 / 53 [coolest maximum since March 3rd

 

Rain: 2.25

Month: 4.07

Total [jul-jun]: 4.75"

[Dan the Weatherman]

It rained here in Orange quite heavily for awhile starting about 4:30 this morning, and it continued raining until 11 a.m. or so, although not as heavy as it was when it first started. It was a good soaking rain, which makes that two good soakers this month so far. Hopefully the third storm forecast for around Tuesday or Wednesday of next week is a good soaker, too, and that it is cold enough for more significant snowfall for the ski resorts both here in Socal and in the Sierras.

[Dan the Weatherman]

With this last storm, most coastal and valley area stations in Los Angeles County received between 1-2", and areas near the mountains received more than that. Most of Orange County received between 1" and 1.5", except for a few south county locations, which got .77" to 1". San Diego County coastal areas averaged between .75" to 1.1", except for Carlsbad, which received 1.41".

 

This was definitely a good soaking rain for the area, and nobody missed out on the action. Hopefully we get at least a few more events like this throughout the winter season!

[Guest happ]

The storm was well-forecast.  Looks like onshore troughy conditions into the coming week. 

 

NWS_LA

.TOP RAINFALL AMOUNTS FROM ALL LOCAL AREAS
SAN MARCOS PASS................... 5.25
EL DESEO.......................... 4.65
LOS PRIETOS....................... 4.33
MARIA YGNACIO RIDGE............... 4.30
TWITCHELL DAM..................... 3.86
OPIDS CAMP........................ 3.77
BLACK MOUNTAIN.................... 3.60
REFUGIO PASS...................... 3.51
KTYD TOWER........................ 3.51
GIBRALTAR DAM..................... 3.49

.LA CO. (METROPOLITAN)
BEVERLY HILLS..................... 1.91
BEL AIR........................... 1.81
MONTE NIDO........................ 1.65
LA DOWNTOWN (CQT)................. 1.61
HAWTHORNE (KHHR).................. 1.58
LONG BEACH (KLGB)................. 1.55
SOUTH GATE........................ 1.54
LA AIRPORT(KLAX).................. 1.49
REDONDO BEACH..................... 1.45
HOLLYWOOD RESERVOIR............... 1.42
SANTA MONICA (KSMO)............... 1.34
CULVER CITY....................... 1.32
TORRANCE.......................... 1.31
UCLA.............................. 1.17
GETTY CENTER...................... 1.10

.LA CO. (VALLEYS)
PASADENA.......................... 3.43
NEWHALL........................... 2.79
EAGLE ROCK RESERVOIR.............. 2.13
NORTHRIDGE........................ 2.10
AGOURA HILLS...................... 2.09
EATON DAM......................... 2.08
ALHAMBRA.......................... 2.05
CANOGA PARK....................... 2.05
HANSEN DAM........................ 2.01
PACOIMA DAM....................... 2.01
VAN NUYS (KVNY)................... 1.84
CHATSWORTH RESERVOIR.............. 1.83
SANTA FE DAM...................... 1.81
DEL VALLE......................... 1.78
WOODLAND HILLS.................... 1.67
SAUGUS............................ 1.53
CLAREMONT......................... 1.40
LA VERNE.......................... 1.30
BURBANK (KBUR).................... 1.23
POMONA............................ 1.23
WHITTIER.......................... 1.15

.LA CO. (MTNS & FTHLS)
OPIDS CAMP........................ 3.77
CRYSTAL LAKE...................... 3.15
WEST FORK HELIPORT................ 2.88
SAN GABRIEL DAM................... 2.64
CAMP 9............................ 2.46
INSPIRATION POINT................. 2.45
SANTA ANITA DAM................... 2.28
MT BALDY.......................... 2.19
WARM SPRINGS...................... 2.07
SIERRA MADRE...................... 2.05
SANDBERG (KSDB)................... 2.02
MORRIS DAM........................ 2.00
WHITAKER PEAK..................... 1.92
TANBARK........................... 1.88
SAN ANTONIO DAM................... 1.49
CHILAO............................ 1.34
ACTON............................. 1.15
MILL CREEK SUMMIT................. 0.93

.LA CO. (DESERTS)
POPPY PARK........................ 1.88
LAKE PALMDALE..................... 1.23
LANCASTER (KWJF).................. 1.19
VALYERMO.......................... 1.17
PALMDALE (KPMD)................... 1.10
SADDLEBACK BUTTE.................. 0.59
 

[Guest happ]

Clear calm skies will mean the coldest minimum for the year unless clouds move in.  Looking back through data, I discovered that the lowest minimum this year is a measly 47° [2/3-4]; just 9 times below 50° [including this morning].  Data going back over 30 years gives my location an average December minimum of 49-50° so 40's are normally common & appreciated.  

 

65 / 49

[Dan the Weatherman]

Here in Orange I received 1.95" of rainfall from this last storm, which is pretty impressive! That brings the total to nearly 4" from just these last two storms alone, which is probably not too far from my 2013-14 season total.

[snow_wizard]

I'm very happy for you guys.  It will be interesting to see how the big pattern change coming up treats you down there.

[Alan]

I have 'snow likely' forecast all week long (except Friday), just like the recent rains we haven't had multiple days of snow forecasted for two or three years!

 

You know its a bad drought when you forget what a 'normal' winter is!

[Guest happ]

I'm very happy for you guys.  It will be interesting to see how the big pattern change coming up treats you down there.

 

Whatever the "big pattern change" I hope that we maintain at least periodic storms [every 2 weeks or so] which is a more normal California winter.  Cool days, chilly nights = heaven.

 

66 / 48

[Guest happ]

Forgot to post this incident last week:

 

Tornado in South Los Angeles - December 12th, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F-M6Ly3Jqw

[halofromajo]

Forgot to post this incident last week:

 

Tornado in South Los Angeles - December 12th, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F-M6Ly3Jqw

Stealing for the Weather Channel here, but the top of that cell was only about 10k.  Must have been some excellent vorticity to get that thing going in such a small column. 

[Alan]

Pretty much the best commentary ever for a weather video!

[Guest happ]

I didn't check the rain gauge before leaving for work this morning but there has been a steady onshore flow of scattered showers all day, so far, with another likely stronger system tonight/ tomorrow.  These storms are like an early Xmas gift to California with many stations already reporting above normal rainfall for December.  

 

Cloudy

60F

[Alan]

Close to .25" drizzle rain and the occasional moderate shower with snow mixing in. Forecast was for all snow 2"-4" today so I guess the liquid equivalent is at least about right. Hoping the winter storm watch for tonight through tomorrow verifies with ~6".

[Guest happ]

I was surprised to only measure 0.20 at my house especially since it rained quite a bit and even a flash flood warning for the South Bay late this afternoon.  I work close to Torrance where the equivalent of 2" an hour occurred in a very heavy downpour.  I was in a meeting when everyone's cell phone began issuing warnings.  Streets were flooded.  I'm assuming the cell moved east into Orange county afterward.

 

60/ 53

[Guest happ]

Your Torrance downpour made the 8 p.m. NWS forecast discussion:

 

DUE TO A SURFACE LOW OFF THE COAST OF

PALOS VERDES PENINSULA...THERE WAS LIGHT FLOW WHICH MEANT STORMS

WERE SLOW MOVING. A PARTICULARLY STRONG CLUSTER OF SLOW MOVING STORMS

DEVELOPED OVER TORRANCE AND NEARBY COMMUNITIES LATE THIS AFTERNOON

AND EARLY EVENING. FLASH FLOOD WARNING WAS ISSUED FOR THE TORRANCE

AREA...WHERE DANGEROUS ROADWAY FLOODING TRAPPED SOME VEHICLES.

DURING THE PEAK OF THE EVENT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED AN IMPRESSIVE

RAINFALL INTENSITY IN EXCESS OF 2 INCHES PER HOUR! AN AUTOMATED WEATHER

STATION IN TORRANCE ALSO REPORTED A STORM TOTAL THAT EXCEEDED 3

INCHES.

 

Nothing here so far this evening.  After tonight's action (if any), looks like it's gradually back to warm and dry for the foreseeable future (ho hum).

 

That cell came out of nowhere or so it seems; "3 inches" is incredible.  I work just east of the area hit near Cal State - Dominguez Hills and it was raining hard but nothing like what was occurring a few miles west in Torrance.

 

Last night a thunderstorm hit around 1:30am with a brief heavy shower.  I didn't have time to check the rain gauge but I don't think it was over 0.50.  All and all a great week.

[Dan the Weatherman]

I saw a couple of flashes of lightning here in Orange early this morning just after 4 a.m. when the main front passed through followed by a period of heavy rain. This is the first time I have seen lightning this season.

[Guest happ]

Looking quickly at some monthly rainfall totals across the state, I found most stations above normal or well above normal for a December.  Looks like all of California benefited. 

 

Lo: 49

 

Monthly rainfall: 4.78

Year [jul-jun]: 5.46

2014: 10.34

[AlTahoe]

Looking quickly at some monthly rainfall totals across the state, I found most stations above normal or well above normal for a December.  Looks like all of California benefited. 

 

Lo: 49

 

Monthly rainfall: 4.78

Year [jul-jun]: 5.46

2014: 10.34

Except the Sierra Nevada mountain's missed out on almost all of the action. Right now the Central Sierra is only at 42% of average for this date. I live in South Lake Tahoe and we still have not recorded one inch of snowfall this season! We also only received 1.25" inches of rain this month. Heavenly has a whopping 5" inches of natural snow on the ground. We actually had more snow on the ground at this time last winter. 

[Guest happ]

Except the Sierra Nevada mountain's missed out on almost all of the action. Right now the Central Sierra is only at 42% of average for this date. I live in South Lake Tahoe and we still have not recorded one inch of snowfall this season! We also only received 1.25" inches of rain this month. Heavenly has a whopping 5" inches of natural snow on the ground. We actually had more snow on the ground at this time last winter. 

 

That is discouraging.  Keep us updated if you would.  I assumed if the coastline were getting heavy showers that the Sierra would be getting heavy snow.  Glad to see the Squaw Valley station is back online.

 

SQUAW VALLEY 8K FT :  30 /  20

 

63 / 49

[Dan the Weatherman]

I'm pretty new to reading and interpreting the models, but if I'm not mistaken, there doesn't appear to be much opportunity for rain in SoCal anytime within the next 2 weeks

 

Hope I'm wrong (or that the models will change their minds)!

I am hoping that we are not going into a long drawn out dry spell at this time. A couple of weeks would be OK, but I don't want to see another rainless January! We have had enough bone-dry Januaries as of late.

[Guest happ]

I am hoping that we are not going into a long drawn out dry spell at this time. A couple of weeks would be OK, but I don't want to see another rainless January! We have had enough bone-dry Januaries as of late.

 

I am encouraged by the slow transition to ridging and the possibility for another storm in northern California around Xmas and another system the next week.

 

Lo: 51°

[AlTahoe]

Sometimes in the early morning I can pick up the Reno radio station.  I thought I heard them say last week that chains were required over Donner Pass? 

Yes North Lake Tahoe (especially west of the crest) has received a decent amount of snow. South Lake Tahoe has been shut out so far.

[Guest happ]

Quite a spread in 7am temps over a relatively short distance due to wind and/ or fog.

 

LA COUNTY VALLEYS AND INLAND EMPIRE

CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
CORONA AIRPORT PTSUNNY   38  38 100 CALM      30.05F FOG  [usual cold spot]           
CHATSWORTH      PTSUNNY     66  43  44 N6        30.02S                 

[Guest happ]

Per LA Times:

 

"Northerly winds blew at 92 mph at Whitaker Peak, 62 mph in Sandberg, 59 mph at Camp Nine and 53 mph in Porter Ranch, toppling trees and power lines, according to the National Weather Service".

 

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-los-angeles-mountain-wave-winds-20141222-story.html

[Dan the Weatherman]

So far I haven't had any wind here in Orange, but that is usually the case with a northerly / northwesterly wind. That type of wind often howls in the L.A. area, while it seldom blows here in this area. However, when the wind starts to come out of the northeast as a Santa Ana wind, then my area gets in on the action. That is expected to happen sometime overnight or early tomorrow morning, as this region is under a Wind Advisory from late tonight into early Wednesday.