2020 - 2021 California and Southwest Weather Discussion Thread

[Reg]

NWS is sounding optimistic about next week's storm, which is now trending much wetter than in previous runs. We'll see.

[Mr Marine Layer]

We have picked up an incredible 0.01" of rain from this marine layer on steroids event.

[Reg]

Only had a trace of drizzle yesterday and nothing so far today here. I love this gloomy gray weather though.

[Mr Marine Layer]

0.09" now for the day.

[Mr Marine Layer]

It doesn't get much gloomier here.

[Reg]

3 hours ago, Mr Marine Layer said:

0.09" now for the day.

Nice, looks like you guys in Orange County lucked out. We've had cloudy skies all day but no rain anywhere inland, except for Hemet which randomly picked up 0.11".

[Mr Marine Layer]

La Nina years always suck for high amounts of May Gray and June Gloom.

[Dan the Weatherman]

I picked up 0.05" here in Orange with the Wednesday night / Thursday morning event.

[Mr Marine Layer]

3 consecutive days of no sun. Is it May yet?

[Omegaraptor]

18 minutes ago, Mr Marine Layer said:

3 consecutive days of no sun. Is it May yet?

Try moving to Oregon. Been nothing but sun here for the past two weeks. 

[Mr Marine Layer]

Headed to Palm Springs for the weekend to escape the May Gray.

[Mr Marine Layer]

Looks like the sun decided to come out today in Orange County even with the marine layer clouds deep enough to be visible from Palm Springs.

[Mr Marine Layer]

Notice how deep the marine layer was today. This view is from Palm Springs.

[Mr Marine Layer]

Another marine layer view from the desert.

Back in Orange County the wildflowers are still in bloom

It was a reverse clearing day, with the Inland Empire cloudier than the coast.

[Mr Marine Layer]

0.13" of rain overnight.

[Reg]

0.07" here this morning, mainly between 5 AM and 7 AM. Light rain has just resumed here.

[Reg]

Rain stopped here an hour ago, I'm at 0.17" now. Today has been our first day of measurable rain since exactly one month ago.

[Reg]

Sun has been out for a while now, some scattered clouds but rain totals are unimpressive so far. My total of 0.17" is the highest in my area as of this afternoon, with many locations further north having still not recorded any measurable precipitation at all.

But according to the latest NWS forecast discussion, the best may be yet to come:

Quote

Another, colder punch of air will dig into the trough position tonight, reigniting shower development into SoCal. These showers will be more convective and will be capable of increased rainfall rates. (See Hydrology section below) This disturbance will strengthen as it moves south and help to close off a low pressure center over SoCal Tue afternoon. The cold air aloft and cyclonic flow will support further shower development, and possibly even an isolated thunderstorm or two near the mountains before the system moves rapidly east on Wednesday.

 

[Dan the Weatherman]

20 hours ago, Mr Marine Layer said:

Another marine layer view from the desert.

Back in Orange County the wildflowers are still in bloom

It was a reverse clearing day, with the Inland Empire cloudier than the coast.

That looks like the 241 just south of the Chapman Ave / Santiago Cyn interchange.

[Dan the Weatherman]

It rained very lightly here in Orange last night but it wasn't enough to wet the ground or measure.

[Reg]

I don't want to call it too soon but this storm looks like it was a major bust for nearly all of Southern California, with many areas having not received any measurable precipitation at all through this morning and any additional chances reduced to virtually zero.

And to add insult to injury, later this week we have this to look forward to inland:

Quote

.FRIDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs 95 to 100.

 

[Reg]

One random downpour earlier this afternoon added an additional 0.12" to my total, while the nearby Murrieta station got 0.20" from it. It seems to have missed the rest of the valley entirely.

[Mr Marine Layer]

No more rain here today. Lots of sun by the afternoon with a view of storm clouds to the east.

[Reg]

Much warmer today, and not a cloud in the sky. It's a beautiful day but I am sad that the gloomy cold weather is gone.

[Thunder98]

Today is the first day that the peak sun angle is above 70 degrees in the sky for the Santa Maria area.

[Mr Marine Layer]

Big cool down expected for the weekend.

[Reg]

99F here yesterday.

[Mr Marine Layer]

It is getting windy. 

[Reg]

Around midnight I had stepped outside to find it actually drizzling here, although not enough to wet the ground.

[Reg]

Today might be our last cool, breezy, mostly cloudy day for a long while (inland).

[Mr Marine Layer]

Reverse clearing today.

[Reg]

96F here today.

[Reg]

Very rapid cool down this evening, humidity recovered from 18% earlier this afternoon to 68% right now.

[Black Hole]

At my office (NWS Phoenix) we cover Imperial and Riverside counties. I've been watching temperatures creep up out there the last few weeks. This week looks like mostly mid to upper 90s. Pretty boring but comfortable for those areas. 

[Dan the Weatherman]

8 hours ago, Black Hole said:

At my office (NWS Phoenix) we cover Imperial and Riverside counties. I've been watching temperatures creep up out there the last few weeks. This week looks like mostly mid to upper 90s. Pretty boring but comfortable for those areas. 

Do you and others at NWS Phoenix see signs that we may have a more active monsoon this summer? I have been reading some hints on this possibility recently, but I wanted to see what your take is on it.

[Mr Marine Layer]

Much cooler and breezier today, but surprisingly Laguna Beach was not that cold with clouds thin enough to allow some of the sun's warmth through.

Actually more breezy inland than at the immediate coast.

[Mr Marine Layer]

Very early return of the low clouds this evening. 

[Mr Marine Layer]

Only 69 today for Downtown LA. 

[Mr Marine Layer]

Deep marine layer this morning, but cloud bases are rather high. 

[Mr Marine Layer]

A little bit of drizzle this morning in Laguna Niguel.

[Mr Marine Layer]

Eddy is spinning around, clearly visible on the satellite imagery.

[Reg]

On 5/9/2021 at 4:11 PM, Mr Marine Layer said:

A little bit of drizzle this morning in Laguna Niguel.

I hope you are able to get and mount a rain gauge soon, I'd love to see what rain totals you guys get in Orange County.

[Mr Marine Layer]

Low clouds finally cleared out by late afternoon.

[Reg]

Cooldown coming this weekend.

[Mr Marine Layer]

Low clouds already moving back in with a strong southwest wind. 

[Dan the Weatherman]

On 5/11/2021 at 1:12 PM, Reg said:

Cooldown coming this weekend.

There could even be some light showers from a deep marine layer, and even possibly some instability / convective showers in some parts of Socal on Sunday as the cold core of the low moves over the area.

[Mr Marine Layer]

This is not the time of year to enjoy a sunny day at the beach.

[Mr Marine Layer]

Southern half of Orange County has cleared, but the low clouds will arrive early tonight and Downtown LA should keep the streak of below normal highs at 8 days.

[Thunder98]

Spring has been utter crap this year with constant cooler than avg temps and endless marine layer. I really hope we see a hot Summer with frequent monsoonal intrusions and tropical cyclone remnants. 

[Mr Marine Layer]

Only 67 for Downtown LA today. Orange County was warmer and clouds even cleared off the coast in San Diego, which reached 72.