Tuesday a front associated with an unseasonably strong Pacific low pressure system broke rainfall records in much of the northern half of the state. Precipitation records for the date were broken in numerous locations, including Monterey, San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco, Napa, Sacramento, Redding, Eureka and Crescent City. Here are archived copies of record reports from the San Francisco Bay/Monterey NWS Office and the Sacramento NWS Office.

The front and trough produced a few clouds and cooled temperatures in the Los Angeles area, but I didn't see any reports of rain. Downtown Los Angeles (USC) will end the July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011 water year with 20.20 inches of rain. This is about 133% of the climate normal of 15.14 inches. According to NWS data Camarillo/Oxnard recorded 139% of normal rainfall, Long Beach 145%, Santa Barbara 169% and Palmdale 105%.

Looks like temperatures will be warming up for the July 4th weekend. Temperatures are expected to reach into the 80s at the coast, 90's inland and 100's in the valleys. Desert areas could reach 110 or higher. Models suggest the possibility of some monsoon moisture moving into the area Sunday or Monday, along with a chance of thunderstorms in the mountains and deserts. Check the NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard Office for the latest forecasts and warnings.

More information about Southern California weather and climate can be found using our WEATHER LINKS page.

An unseasonably strong Pacific low pressure system that stalled about 200 NM off the Central Californio coast set new rainfall records from San Francisco to Santa Barbara over the weekend. The N-S oriented front associated with the system was positioned over Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties much of the weekend, resulting in unusually high rainfall totals in some areas. Midday Sunday the upper low began to move east along 35°N, increasing divergence aloft in areas north of Pt. Conception and producing additional precipitation Sunday afternoon and evening.

Saturday a new rainfall record for the date was set in San Francisco; and on Saturday and Sunday new rainfall records were set in Stockton, Modesto, Paso Robles and Santa Maria. Sunday Santa Barbara Airport recorded 1.24 inches of rain, breaking the record for the date, and increasing the station's rainfall total for June to the highest since recordkeeping began in 1941. The dissipating front produced some scattered showers in the Los Angeles area Sunday.

There were some impressive storm totals. Nordhoff Ridge, in Ventura County, recorded 1.07 inches of rain; Refugio Pass, in Santa Barbara County, 2.64 inches; and Rocky Butte, in San Luis Obispo County, 3.94 inches. Downtown Los Angeles (USC) recorded a trace of rain on Sunday, leaving our water year (July 1 to June 30) rainfall total at 20.19 inches. Here is an archived copy of a NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard compilation of some rainfall totals from around the area.

Saturday I did a trail run on the 8000-9000 ft. ridge between Mt. Pinos and Mt. Abel, north of Los Angeles, and was able to observe first-hand the very strong southerly flow associated with this system, and the spectacular wave clouds that resulted.

More information about Southern California weather and climate can be found using our WEATHER LINKS page.