RAIN SMALL GAIN; SHOWERS MAY LINGER TILL THURSDAY.Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer Monday's light rain, which could continue through Thursday, brought temporary relief to gardeners, allergy sufferers and firefighters, but was not nearly enough to make up for an extremely dry 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. winter. ``Any kind of moisture around here helps plants,'' said Teddy Howell, a member of the West Valley Garden Club. ``They all look better today than they did two days ago.'' The National Weather Service forecast a 40 percent chance of rain today and intermittent showers through Thursday. Temperatures today in Woodland Hills and Burbank are expected to reach 65 degrees. In this second year of La Nina, the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. area has experienced only a fraction of its normal rainfall, leaving plants parched parch v. parched, parch·ing, parch·es v.tr. 1. To make extremely dry, especially by exposure to heat: The midsummer sun parched the earth. , allergy sufferers gasping for air and firefighters on edge. Burbank, for example, has had less than a quarter-inch of rain since July 1, including Monday's drizzle. Normally it averages 5.13 inches through Dec. 31 and 8.14 inches through the end of January, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the National Weather Service. La Nina, a global weather phenomenon caused by unusually cold equatorial waters, has meant drier weather for Southern California, in sharp contrast to the cold, wet weather brought by El Nino. The dry winter has been particularly uncomfortable for people allergic to pollen and air pollution, as powerful 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 -- kicked up dust storms that triggered runny noses and sneezing To verbally tell somebody about a new and interesting Web site. See viral marketing. . While the rain brought relief to some, for others it signaled the onset of a whole new set of allergy symptoms as moisture in the air triggers the growth of mold, said Dr. Jacob Offenberger, a Granada Hills allergist al·ler·gist n. A physician specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of allergies. allergist Immunology A physician, who is often trained in both internal medicine and clinical immunology and who manages Pts with . In many cases, people mistake the symptoms for a cold or flu, he added. ``All the time I see people who say I had a cold for two months and nothing helped. That's because it's not a cold, but an exacerbation of allergies,'' Offenberger said. Mold is most likely to grow at home in high-moisture areas such as bathrooms, or places where water leaks in from outside - such as cracks developed during earthquakes, he said. It tends to grow about two days after rain, and does well in humid air even if it's not raining. During the Monday morning commute - lighter than normal because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday - there were more than twice as many calls for crashes and collisions handled by the California Highway Patrol than during the same period the previous Monday, Sgt. Ernie Sanchez said. Between 5 and 9 a.m. there were 114 calls involving crashes, compared with 56 calls during the same period the previous Monday, he said. ``The majority of collisions that occurred this morning involved only one vehicle,'' Sanchez said in a prepared statement. ``This indicates that drivers are traveling at unsafe speeds during these slick roadway conditions.'' On the southbound Golden State Freeway The Golden State Freeway is a north-south freeway running through Kern County and Los Angeles County, California. Originally built as U.S. Highway 99, it was re-signed as Interstate 5 in 1964. , at the San Diego Freeway The San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405, and the part of Interstate 5 south of the El Toro Y[1]) is one of the principal north-south highways in Southern California, and the major beltway of I-5 running through Southern California. junction, the rain may have contributed to a minor collision involving five big rigs, the CHP CHP Chapter CHP Combined Heat and Power CHP California Highway Patrol CHP Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (Turkish: Republican People's Party) CHP Chemical Hygiene Plan (OSHA) CHP Community Health Plan reported. Officers closed down both truck lanes on the Golden State shortly after the 10:11 a.m. collision, which caused only minor injuries. - Staff Writer Lisa Van Proyen contributed to this report. CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1) Five big rigs were involved in a collision on the southbound Golden State Freeway, at the 405 Freeway junction. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News (2 -- Valley edition only) A two-vehicle crash on Burbank Boulevard in Van Nuys on Monday left two people hurt. Keith Cullom/Special to the Daily News (2 -- Glendale/Burbank edition only) Cameron Lee Wong, 18 months, finds shelter from the rain under his father John's umbrella on Canada Boulevard in Glendale on Monday afternoon. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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