2006 Monthly Summary

Through November 30

Month
Average Temp.
LAX "Normal"
Avg. High (Max)
Avg. Low (Min)
Total Precip.
LAX "Normal"
Days with at least .1 in. of rain
January
56.9
56.5
65.9 (91)
50.4 (34)
1.30
2.90
2
February
57.0
57.4
63.1 (91)
48.6 (36)
1.90
3.15
4
March
54.6
58.5
59.5 (77)
47.3 (34)
2.11
2.08
4
April
59.8
60.5
66.1 (79)
55.5 (44)
1.35
0.91
4
May
65.2
63.0
68.2 (82)
62.1 (52)
0.47
0.21
1
June
69.7
66.2
74.3 (93)
66.3 (57)
0.01
0.06
0
July
76.2
69.8
85.9 (94)
66.5 (59)
0
0.01
0
August
72.8
70.8
82.2 (92)
63.4 (59)
0
0.06
0
September
70.9
69.7
81.5 (90)
60.3 (53)
0
0.22
0
October
67.3
66.4
79.7 (91)
55.0 (43)
0.01
0.43
0
November
64.8
62.2
78.7 (99)
50.9 (33)
0.14
1.22
1
December
57.6
()
()
2.21
Year to Date
64.5
63.7
75.6 (99)
53.4 (33)
7.29
11.25
16
TOTAL
63.2
13.47

Highest recorded wind gust: 24 mph on multiple dates

Discussion

After a relatively dry January and February, we finally got some consistent rain at the end of March. This continued through April, and even into May. But it still left us on the dry side of average at the effective end of the rainy season, by more than four inches. Still, this doesn't amount to any sort of drought. Not only was rainfall higher than usual in 2004-05, but statewide, the spring of 2006 was very wet in the places where it really counts--the mountains. According to the state's May 1 official water report, snowpack, runoff, and reservoir storage levels were all well above average at the beginning of the state's usual dry season. Specifically, snowpack water content was at 185% of "normal" for May 1, and reservoir storage was at 115%.

While the start of the year was cooler than usual, 2006 has proven to be a relatively warm one--indeed a hot and humid one by our mild coastal standards. May, June, and August, were all 2-3 degrees above average, but the real story was July, which finished more than six degrees above "normal". Just as noteworthy was the humidity; a "dry" heat wave this was not. There wasn't enough instability in the atmosphere to produce Gulf Coast- or Arizona-like thunderstorms, but it sure was a monsoon summer with dew points regularly registering above 70. In the past, we've recorded absolute humidities this high only a scattered few days each year. That began to change last year, when a handful of bouts of monsoon moisture in late summer and early fall brought dew points above 70 as many as 14 times. But that proved to be a mere prelude to 2006. In June, there were 4 days with dew points above 70; in July there were an amazing 27 days; and in August there were 14 days. Much to our relief, the monsoonal pattern appeared to break in mid-August, and despite creeping back up the last week of the month, September proved to be a more "normal", and thus quite comfortable, month.

Autumn temperatures continued the above-historical-average trend, with September, October, and November, each recording at least one day in the 90s, and each finishing a degree or two above average. Indeed, the first week of November brought something of a mini heat wave, in which strong Santa Ana conditions led to the highest temperature of the year--99! As often happens during the winter months, though, the off-shore flow responsible for those unseasonably warm temps can also yield some cold morning lows; by the end of the month, we were waking up to temps barely above freezing. Meanwhile, a mild El Nino notwithstanding, the 2006-07 rainy season has gotten off to a very slow start: just one real day of rain, which finally came in late November, and not a particularly significant one at that. This dry weather has been good news for my bike commuting, but the lawn and garden sure could use some moisture.