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Precipitation totals in the Los Angeles area from Friday morning to this morning generally ranged from 2-5 inches in the basin and valleys, and from 5 to 10 inches or more in the local foothills and mountains. San Marcos Pass, near Santa Barbara recorded nearly 11 inches of rain, and OPIDS Camp, near Mt. Wilson, recorded nearly 13 inches of precipitation. Here is an archived copy of a NWS Public Information Statement with preliminary rainfall totals for the rain event, and an AHPS Precipitation Analysis of California precipitation for the 7 day period ending 4:00 a.m. this morning.
According to today's Summary of Snow Water Equivalents from California Cooperative Snow Surveys, the series of storms increased the Sierra Snowpack to 111% of normal for the date -- up from 60% at the end of 2007.
Another fast moving shortwave is forecast to primarily affect areas north of Pt. Conception Tuesday into Wednesday, with only a small chance of showers in the Los Angeles area.
So far this rain season, Southern California has dodged a La Nina bullet. This AHPS Precipitation Analysis for the water year to date indicates much of the area having received near normal to above normal precipitation. Even though the Climate Prediction Center's revised precipitation outlook for January, issued December 31, indicates above normal precipitation in the western U.S., the JFM Precipitation Outlook, issued December 20, remains pessimistic. We'll see!
Updated January 10, 2008. The ESRL-PSD Composite ENSO plots page was updated today to correct an issue that resulted in the wrong set of years being used for its Winter La Nina composites. As a result the La Nina composite precipitation map in the October 9, 2007 Weathernotes has been updated. Note that the average La Niña rainfall indicated for coastal Southern California is in the 7.0-10.5 inch range, rather than the 10-15 inch range previously indicated in the ESRL-PSD graphic.
More information concerning Southern California weather can be found using our WEATHER LINKS page.
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