FALL IN BLOOM FIRST AUTUMN STORM WIELDS COLD PUNCH.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer A cold Gulf of Alaska Noun 1. Gulf of Alaska - a gulf of the Pacific Ocean between the Alaska Peninsula and the Alexander Archipelago Pacific, Pacific Ocean - the largest ocean in the world storm swept into the region overnight, possibly signaling the first normal rainy season in several years and offering small relief for brush fire prevention, officials said. Without La Nina La Niña n. A cooling of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America, occurring periodically every 4 to 12 years and affecting Pacific and other weather patterns. or El Nino currents to steer the climate, Southern California is once again subject to the Alaskan jet stream source for unpredictable cold and drizzly weather. Forecasters predict a 50 percent chance of rain today and 20 percent tonight with clear skies by Thursday. Snow was expected to fall as low as 5,500 feet, with highs in the low 60s and wind gusts up to 25 mph. On Tuesday, although there was little or no rain for most of the day in the Los Angeles area, storm clouds rolled in in the afternoon and heavy rain and wind were reported in some areas. Daytime temperatures Tuesday ranged from highs of 68 degrees in Burbank and Van Nuys, and 69 degrees in Chatsworth and downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or , to 77 degrees in Woodland Hills. The last year the jet stream commanded Los Angeles weather was between July 1996 and June 1997, when 9.39 inches of rain fell, forecasters said. Such years, however, make weather predictions more difficult. ``During a normal year, it's harder to forecast, because the jet stream meanders around a lot,'' said Bruce Rockwell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Firefighters said the rain, although welcome, only temporarily dampens chances of a wildfire during the peak fire season. ``The concern is that we could have a small measure of rain today, but tomorrow have a booming brush fire like we had several weeks ago,'' said Los Angeles County Fire Department Not to be confused with Los Angeles Fire Department. The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), serves unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, as well as 58 cities and towns that choose to have the county provide fire and EMS services, including the City of La Inspector Roland Sprewell. Because hot Santa Ana winds Santa Ana Winds may refer to: 1. Santa Ana wind, a local Southern California reference to Föhn winds, a meteorological phenomenon occurring as a layer of wind is forced over a mountain range -- drying the air -- which then passes over the crest and begins to move downslope -- can almost immediately dry up moisture after autumn downpours, Sprewell said, ``we're not out of the woods yet.'' After years of blaming excess rain or drought on El Nino and La Nina - warm or cold Pacific Ocean currents swirling about the equator - weather forecasters say the region is back to the mercy of the chaotic jet stream. ``Because there's no forcing mechanism with El Nino or La Nina, the weather will be more normal,'' said James Murakami, meteorologist in the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. , Science and Atmosphere Department. ``But there's no such thing as normal,' he added, because the fluctuating jet stream from Alaska creates no predictable pattern of storms. The Arctic jet stream is several hundred miles wide and nearly encircles the Earth's northern latitudes. In its wake follow rain and snow - or cold snaps deadly to San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. tropical garden plants. In normal years forecasters call neutral to El Nino or La Nina currents, the jet stream picks up subtropical sub·trop·i·cal adj. Of, relating to, or being the geographic areas adjacent to the Tropics. subtropical Adjective of the region lying between the tropics and temperate lands moisture in a ``pineapple connection'' north of Hawaii, then sends it eastward. When the jet stream swings down the California coast, the Southland gets rain, climatologists and meteorologists Atmospheric scientists
El Nino flooded the Southland with 31 inches of rain in 1997-98, and La Nina brought 9.09 inches in '98-99 and 11.57 inches in 1999-2000. The average rainfall for Los Angeles is 14.77 inches, mostly falling between November and April. Normal years can bring slight October rain, with up to 3 inches falling in November. ``Assuming this is our one shot during the month, this shouldn't be a big deal,'' Murakami said. Climatologists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Scripps Institution of Oceanography: see California, Univ. of. predict slightly warmer and drier weather this winter for Southern California, based on a similar forecast for the Southwest by the federal Climate Prediction Center. ``I would say Los Angeles would get 85 to 90 percent of average, or somewhere around 12 inches, and also slightly warmer temperatures,'' said Scripps climatologist cli·ma·tol·o·gy n. The meteorological study of climates and their phenomena. cli  ma·to·log Larry Riddle. Otherwise, the weather is back to normal. ``We're not out on a limb by any form,'' he said, ``and the world isn't coming to an end with this rainfall.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Fluffy clouds serve as a backdrop for sunflowers at Lombardi Ranch in Saugus, clouds that could bring more rain along with cool temperatures. David R. Crane/Staff Photographer |
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