BEGINNING OF NEW EL NINO? UNEXPECTED EARLY MORNING STORM WAKES VALLEY RESIDENTS.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

The skies opened Tuesday with rolling thunder and a sound unheard for months in Southern California: rain.

It splashed commuters. Puddled roadways. Hissed under tires. And sent a glorious rainbow over the west San Fernando Valley.

``This is one of the best days of the year,'' exclaimed Eddie Rodriguez, a retiree from Woodland Hills who stepped out to smell the rain. ``I can't remember the last time it rained.

``Nothing's better than this.''

Weather forecasters reported sprinkles from Orange County to Camarillo during morning rush hour. After the storm broke, large cumulous clouds cleared for a hot blustery afternoon.

Trace amounts of rainfall were reported in Palmdale and as far east as Palm Springs.

``Maybe it's a good sign,'' said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard. ``We should be back to normal, or slightly above normal, this winter.''

An offshore breeze blew at 25 mph, with wind advisories reported on the Ronald Reagan Freeway in the Santa Susana Mountains.

Morning clouds are expected through Friday, clearing by the afternoon with highs in the mid-80s.

The National Climate Prediction Center reports a weak-to-moderate El Nino current that may cause a better than 50 percent chance of higher rainfall.

The last rain reported in downtown Los Angeles and at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank was April 17, with a trace on Sept. 9.

On Tuesday, residents were unprepared for the sudden precipitation.

June Nealeigh of Woodland Hills was volunteering inside Lockhurst Elementary School when she saw the downpour.

``It was a welcome sight. It was unanticipated. I sent my kids with shorts to school.''

Monica Mina and Lydia Monroe were heading toward their jobs at The Coffee Bean and Tea stand at Westfield Shoppingtown Promenade mall when the cool rain fell.

``I was coming in from North Hollywood and I said, yo, dis is wack - meaning messed up,'' said Monroe, 19. ``I was happy about it. I would dearly love to frolic (in it).

``I had my heart set on it.''

Dana Bartholomew, [phone]

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Traffic along Valley Circle Boulevard zips through a shower with thunder and lightning Tuesday morning.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer