Storm Could Make Season 2nd Rainiest

A northern Pacific storm probably will drop enough rain today to make this the second-rainiest season on record in downtown Los Angeles, but when and whether the all-time record will fall is anything but certain.

The National Weather Service said showers would start falling across Southern California by this morning, continuing, off and on, through Thursday. A total of about an inch of rain was expected in the coastal valleys.

Although the showers will be generally light to moderate, there still will be enough rain to pose a threat of more mudslides on slopes saturated by earlier storms, National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Gomberg said.

As of Monday night, 34.81 inches of rain had fallen on downtown Los Angeles since July 1. That was just .03 of an inch short of the 34.84 inches that fell in 1889-90, the second-wettest season on record, and 3.37 inches short of the all-time record of 38.18 inches in 1883-84.

By the end of February, almost 34 inches of rain had fallen on the city, and it looked then as though the all-time record was within easy grasp. But March has been drier than normal. To break the record by June 30, the end of the rainfall season, Los Angeles still needs another 3.38 inches of rain. And normally, only about 1.92 inches falls between now and June 30.

“We’ll be in second place by Tuesday night. I’m pretty sure of that,� Bill Patzert, a meteorologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, said Monday. “But when it comes to the all-time record, I’m not that sure.�

Patzert said this season has been much like the season of 1889-90, “wet early and dry late.�

That season, 33.91 inches fell from July 1 through Feb. 28, but less than an inch fell from March through June. This season, 33.87 inches fell from July 1 through Feb. 28, but only .94 of an inch has fallen so far in March.

“Unlike 1889-90, we’re still getting storms out of the north Pacific,� Patzert said. “If that pattern continues for the next three months, as it often does, we could have a new record, although it might be a cliffhanger. But if that pattern changes, as it did in 1889-90, we could fall short. And nobody wants to be in second place.�

Forecasters said about a foot of snow could fall by Thursday night at resort levels in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains.

They said the snow level would start about 7,000 feet today, dropping to about 5,500 feet before dawn Wednesday.

Partly cloudy weather was forecast for the valleys and mountains for Friday, with mostly sunny skies for Saturday and Easter Sunday.

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Tally

To break the rainfall record, another 3.38 inches would have to fall on downtown Los Angeles by June 30. In an average year, about 1.92 inches falls between now and June 30.

*--* Rainiest years (in inches)

1883-’84 38.18 1889-’90 34.84 2004-’05 34.81* *--*

*Season-to-date as of 4:30 p.m. Monday

Source: National Weather Service