Rain Showers Surprise Southland Forecasters

For all of the modern-day know-how and computer and satellite technology, weather forecasting still is an imprecise science. Take Saturday, for example.

“It was a real surprise to me,” declared Dan Bowman, a forecaster with WeatherData Inc., a private forecasting firm that provides weather information to The Times. “I was really shocked.”

What startled Bowman was the fact that he--as well as residents of the Los Angeles metropolitan area--did not expect more showers on Saturday. But rain, albeit light, it did.

From Santa Monica to Pasadena, from Monrovia to Santa Ana to the Mexican border, there were scattered showers measuring not much more than a quarter of an inch.

About .10 of an inch fell in foothill areas, such as Pasadena and Monrovia. None fell at the Los Angeles Civic Center.

Other rainfall amounts included .21 in Escondido, .17 in San Diego, .14 in El Toro.

What produced the sprinkles that dampened holiday cheer, Bowman said, was a storm that had been weakening as it moved south off the coasts of Washington and Oregon.

“It did a lot more than I thought,” Bowman said, lowering snow levels in the Southern California mountains to about 4,000 feet.

Saturday’s Los Angeles Civic Center high of 60 was about eight degrees cooler than normal, he said, although Saturday morning’s low of 49 was about normal. Relative humidity ranged from 74% to 57%.

Today, WeatherData forecast a high in the upper 60s, about normal. And it should stay about normal for the next two days, Bowman said, with temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s.

But, he warned, another Pacific cold front would be moving toward Southern California by Tuesday. Although showers do not appear to be in the cards, Bowman said the front could carry strong winds blowing in from the north and northeast.