I'm loving the Rain in Southern California, i hope we get more of it every year

[JI7]

i don't know when it rained this much last time. i just wish people knew how to drive better when it's raining.

[HuckleB]

1. Rain stops traffic almost everywhere, it seems.

If you run out of rain, you can always head up to Juneau. It's actually a great town, where you'll find more anti-Palin folks than one would imagine in AK.

[jaysunb]

2. I'm down for another day,

but this has got to stop by Wed....I don't want to go sliding. :rofl:

[JI7]

3. i would be happy if it stays cloudy and dark at least

i never liked sunny days even though tha'ts what so cal is famous for.

my favorite times are winter. i always get into a positive mood towards the end of summer/early fall when i sense the colder season coming on.

[gateley]

11. You need to come to Seattle then. I've heard that we don't really get all that

much rainfall (I think other places - New York?) get more, but we lead the pack in the number of days without sun. Our weather people forecast "sun breaks" if the sun may peek through for a bit.

[Raine]

12. That's the way I am too

people think I'm weird but I always get in a good cheerful mood when it's overcast or raining. When it's hot and sunny I get depressed. My luck to be a native Californian where there is more sun than rain.:-( I'm enjoying myself now though. :bounce:

[kestrel91316]

4. I have been in SoCal for 27 years and this is the rainiest, coldest,

weirdest fall I can recall. More rain than in a typical winter (which is our customary rainy season).......

[pinboy3niner]

6. Rain has been below normal in SoCal this year

The current storms will put us above normal, probably by tomorrow's report. As of today:

Normal, July 1 to date = 2.85 inches
This yr., July 1 to date = 2.46 inches
Last yr., July 1 to date = 4.81 inches

Source: L.A. Times

[kestrel91316]

20. And in most years, we get little measurable rain until January.

[wtmusic]

7. IMO it's warmer than other years

but because of the rain it seems colder.

Warmer air holds more moisture, and thanks to global warming this will be more the norm than the exception.

[JDPriestly]

14. Actually, this summer was a lot cooler than previous years.

[kestrel91316]

21. November was unusually cold in my area. More like Jan/Feb cold.

[SoCalDem]

8. Did you notice too, that this year there were no Santana winds?

They usually blow hard hot & strong in late Oct/early Nov..and this year we had one or two days of a little bluster..but nothing like we are used to.. The firefighters probably loved it though..

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

18. Do those winds whistle "Oye Como Va"?

[SoCalDem]

19. Nope.. they just blow dirt & sand everywhere, and for a few blessed weeks

The Inland areas are free from the LA smog :)


http://www.ocalmanac.com/Weather/we23.htm

What are the Santana or Santa Ana Winds?

The Santana Winds or Santa Ana Winds, most common in the late summer and early fall, begin with dry air moving in from the interior of the U.S. towards Southern California. As this air flows down into the Los Angeles-Orange County Basin through the low gaps in the mountains (notably Cajon Pass on the east end of the San Gabriel Mountains and Soledad Pass south of Palmdale), it compresses and warms about five degrees Fahrenheit for every 1,000 feet that it descends. Though these winds are much cooler high in the mountains, they can become hot and dry and assume gale force when descending into the Los Angeles-Orange County Basin. They are often the source of air turbulence for aircraft approaching Los Angeles International Airport.

The original spelling of the of name of the winds is unclear, not to mention the origin. Although the winds have been commonly called Santa Ana Winds or Santa Anas, many argue that the original name is Santana Winds or Santanas. Both versions of the name have been used. The name Santana Winds is said to be traced to Spanish California when the winds were called Devil Winds due to their heat. The reference book Los Angeles A to Z (by Leonard & Dale Pitt), credits the Santa Ana Canyon in Orange County as the origin of the name Santa Ana Winds, thereby arguing for the term Santa Anas. This might be supported by early accounts which attributed the Santa Ana riverbed running through the canyon as the source of the winds. Another account placed the origin of Santa Ana Winds with an Associated Press correspondent stationed in Santa Ana who mistakenly began using Santa Ana Winds instead of Santana Winds in a 1901 dispatch.

Special credit for the research assistance of Librarian Nancy Smith of the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System Reference Center, Los Angeles Public Library.

[kestrel91316]

22. Oh, we got winds all right, but they always came with clouds and moisture.

Except for one warmish spell in late Nov IIRC.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

9. Where were you in November?

Stuck on the 405 on November 2nd, it was 103 degrees inside the car.

[kestrel91316]

23. Inside a car is not official temp, lol, but yeah we did have a break with that

warm spell in Nov, but most of the month was weirdly cold and wet.

[madrchsod]

5. get used to it for a few more years or for a long time...

the weather patterns are changing. here in northern illinois this december will set another record for snow and maybe cold temps...5 in the last 6 yrs.

[gateley]

10. I live in Seattle where we get, it's safe to say, more rain than you do and people

still drive like idiots when it's coming down.

My best friend is in L.A. and he called me today to tell me how much he was loving it, too. But he's from Seattle so maybe it's just a bit of homesickness. We just went through a few days of the "Pineapple Express" here where all the rivers flooded, streets became lakes, probably what you'll be seeing soon, but that was fine with me.

My brother said once he and a friend turned a corner in Hollywood and there was a dip in the road that had filled with water and there was a submerged car with with its emergency lights blinking. So if you're in or heading to Hollywood, take those corners slowly! :hi:

[JDPriestly]

15. I actually put on an ancient pair of boots to go out to my garden

this afternoon. The jars I leave out to check the amount of the rainfall were all full -- to the brim. I seem to have collected more rain than the officials say fell. Very odd. It's probably because I did not empty my containers so I have collected the rainfall from previous rains as well as from the last few days.

[gateley]

17. Is it still coming down? (Guess I could pull up LA Times and see for myself.)

Just keep dry and drive safely!

[JDPriestly]

13. Me too, J17. I'm loving the rain. I get up in the morning

and look out the window at my little garden and I'm just so happy.

Rain, rain, never go away. Come again every day -- at least for a while.

[Raine]

16. I love the rain too

so much so that's what I took my screen name from. I should've been born in Seattle.:-)

[pinboy3niner]

24. SoCal weather UPDATE:

Southland slogs through storm system of a decade
Sunday's storm brought some floods, mudslides and record-breaking rainfall, and there's more to come. Three new storms will hit by Thursday in a weather system seen only once every 10 to 15 years.

By Rong-Gong Lin II and Jason Felch, Los Angeles Times
December 20, 2010

As Southern California slogged through a deluge not seen in years, forecasters warned that three more powerful storms will target Los Angeles before Thursday.

The subtropical drenching came from a weather system so rare that it arrives about once every decade. In the last four days, downtown Los Angeles has received 3.75 inches of rain — a quarter of the rainfall it typically receives for the entire year.

The warm Pacific storm swept the entire state. It rattled Cape Mendocino with thunder, dumped 9 feet of snow on Mammoth Mountain, flooded streets in usually dry Bakersfield and tossed 2 feet of floodwater onto a residential street in La Crescenta.

Sunday's precipitation broke records across the Southland. Downtown L.A. saw 2.3 inches, shattering a record set in 1921. More than 3 inches of rain fell in Pasadena and San Gabriel, breaking decades-old records.

More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-weather-20101220,0,4668966.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fmostviewed+%28L.A.+Times+-+Most+Viewed+Stories%29

L.A. County got 3.12 inches in 24 hours:

Precipitation <ed. to show L.A. County only>

24-hour total (as of 4 p.m.) 3.12
Season total (since July 1) 5.58
Last season (July 1 to date) 4.81
Season norm (July 1 to date) 2.91
Humidity (high/low) 97/90

Source: L.A. Times, 12/20/10, page AA8

[AngryAmish]

25. Question: Are your reservoirs filled up?

What I know about water management in LA I learned from "Chinatown" so please forgive my ignorence...but wasn't there a bad drought for a long time and is this rain helping to fill the reservoirs?

[SoCalDem]

26. I hope they are filling, but a LOT of water rushes down concrete canyons

formerly knows as rivers...and into the sea..:(