L.A. Heads for Record Dry Season

Forecasters say it could rain Monday night or Tuesday morning. Not a lot, but enough to remind us of what we’ve been missing this year.

Thus far, this is shaping up as the driest rainfall season in the history of Los Angeles. Only 4.36 inches of rain have fallen at the Civic Center since July 1.

Stuart Seto, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service, said state officials aren’t calling this a drought--that term is reserved for years when water supplies are short, and no one is calling for rationing yet.

“But it certainly is abnormally dry, at least here in Southern California,” Seto said.

If another 0.49 of an inch of rain doesn’t fall by June 30--and forecasters consider that unlikely--this will be the driest season since officials started keeping records in Los Angeles in 1877. The existing record, set in 1960-61, is 4.85 inches.

Seto said a cool, wet storm from off the coast of Alaska is expected to start moving into the northern part of the state over the weekend, dropping substantial rain in the San Joaquin Valley and several inches of snow in the High Sierra by Sunday night.

He said the storm should continue moving south Monday morning, with a 30% chance of light rain in the Los Angeles Basin on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Light snow could fall in the Tehachapi, San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains above 6,000 feet, Seto said. “It’s like a late-winter storm, pretty unusual for this time of year,” he said. “But whatever precipitation there is shouldn’t be that heavy.”

The weekend weather in Los Angeles before the rain arrives should be pretty nice, with mostly clear afternoons and evenings after some morning clouds and fog.

High temperatures should range from the 60s along the coast to near 80 in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys.