Between January Storms

Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve

From Saturday afternoon’s rain-free run to check out upper Las Virgenes Creek. The nearby Cheeseboro Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) had recorded about 2.0 inches of rain the previous three days and would record another 2.4 inches on the following two. The weather station is on top of the prominent hill in the distance. January was the wettest at Downtown Los Angeles (USC) since January 2005.

Fallstreak Hole

Fallstreak hole south of Calabasas on January 21, 2017.

The oval disturbance in the layer of altocumulus clouds in this photograph is a relatively rare phenomenon called a fallstreak hole or hole punch cloud.

These altocumulus clouds are formed from super-cooled water droplets many times smaller than a raindrop. The droplets are in a liquid state even though the temperature is well below freezing. When disturbed by an aircraft passing through the layer the droplets freeze and precipitate out of the cloud as virga. This and other processes create the hole.

The photo was taken on Saturday, January 21, 2017 at 2:23 p.m. near the Las Virgenes trailhead of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve. The hole was well south of the area.

Downtown Los Angeles and San Jacinto Peak

Downtown Los Angeles and San Jacinto Peak

Downtown Los Angeles, with San Jacinto Peak in the background, approximately 110 miles distant. San Jacinto Peak is a bit over 10,800 feet in elevation.

The photograph was taken from a viewpoint off the Temescal Ridge Trail while doing a loop from the End of Reseda to Will Rogers State Park earlier this month.

Some related posts: San Jacinto Peak and Tahquitz Peak Trail Run, Skiing San Jacinto, Mountain Weather