Monthly Archives: December 2012

nature, nature|clouds, nature|weather, photography, photography|landscape, running, trails, trails|smmc open space, weather, weather|southern california

Twice the Rainy Days in Los Angeles, 60% of the Rain

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Cumulus buildups north of Los Angeles

Sunday, running in the rain on Rocky Peak, it occurred to me that I’d done a lot of runs on rainy days this Fall.

When I got back from the run I checked the NWS web site and found that during the months of October, November and December there have been 17 days with measurable rain at Downtown Los Angeles. Normal for that period (to date) would be around 9 days.

The thing is, we’ve yet to have a day with a half-inch or more of rain Downtown, and we’re only at about 60% of normal rainfall for the water year.

At the moment it looks like another weak system passes through tomorrow afternoon and evening, followed by somewhat wetter systems Sunday night and Wednesday.

At times both the GFS and ECMWF have been forecasting a stronger system might impact Southern California near the end of the year. Today the GFS has it in our forecast and ECMWF doesn’t.  The culprit in the ECMWF forecast is a cutoff upper level low, so look for the forecast to change!

The photograph of the cumulus buildups (north of Los Angeles) is from a run at Ahmanson Ranch on December 13, following the passage of a cold front.

nature, nature|botany, nature|weather, photography, photography|landscape, photography|quirky, running, running|adventures, trails, trails|smmc open space, weather, weather|southern california

Mushrooms and Mud on the Backbone Trail

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Santa Monica Mountains near Circle X

The temp was in the 40s and the chaparral wet with rain when we started the run. We were doing a two part trail run. The first part would be the 15 mile segment of the Backbone Trail from Kanan Rd. to the Mishe Mokwa trailhead on Yerba Buena Rd. The second would be the 6 mile Mishe Mokwa – Sandstone Peak loop.

The weak front that produced the overnight rain had marched on, and now skies were clear and it was a little breezy. As has been the case with many weather systems this year, there hadn’t been a lot of rain. Though muddy in spots, the Backbone Trail was in surprisingly good shape, and the running excellent.

In addition to the greening of the hills and the sprouting of many annuals, the frequent, light rains had also created perfect conditions for the growth of a  variety of mushrooms and other fungi. Fortunately I was running with a sharp-eyed mushroom collector from the PNW that could pick out partially buried earth stars and other mushrooms among the leaves, twigs and other debris in the deep shade along the trail.

Here are three of the more peculiar fungi. Click the image for more info and a larger image.





Orange Jelly



Comb Tooth



Earth Star

Some related posts: Circle X Crags and the Channel Islands, Mishe Mokwa – Sandstone Peak – Grotto Trail Run

nature, nature|clouds, nature|weather, photography, photography|landscape, running, trails, trails|malibu creek state park, weather, weather|southern california

Vertical Relief

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The crest of the Santa Monica Mountains east of Castro Peak

The crest of the Santa Monica Mountains east of Castro Peak stands out in bold relief above a tumultuous ocean of low clouds and fog.

From this morning’s run of the Bulldog loop in Malibu Creek State Park.

Some related posts: Bulldog Loop or Saddle Peak Out & Back?, Malibu Creek State Park Scenic Loop

nature, nature|clouds, nature|weather, photography, photography|landscape, running, trails, trails|topanga state park, weather, weather|southern california

Between Storms

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Between Storms

Although we didn’t have the deluge they experienced in Central and Northern California, Southern California did get some rain. From Tuesday night (11/27) to Monday morning (12/3) Downtown Los Angeles (USC) recorded 1.03 inches, bringing the water year total to 1.36 inches. As of today that’s 1.08 inch below normal.



Some foothill and mountain stations were able to wring out much more rain from the moist tropical flow. Opids Camp recorded 3.02 inches, White Ledge Peak 4.09 inches, Refugio Pass 4.61 inches, and Rocky Butte 8.51 inches. For some storm totals from up north and more info about the “atmospheric rivers” that relayed the moisture up from the tropics, see my December 8 post on Southern California Weather Notes.

The photo above was taken between “storms” early Sunday morning, December 2, on a run in Topanga State Park. It started to rain shortly after I finished the run.

It looks like we might get a little more rain this next week, with a chance of rain on Wednesday and then maybe again on the weekend. We’ll see!

nature, nature|trees, photography, photography|landscape, trails, trails|malibu creek state park

Autumn Color – Southern California Style

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Sycamore trees along Malibu Creek

Because of our warmer Mediterranean climate with dry Summers and (sometimes) wet Winters, many of Southern California’s lower elevation native trees and shrubs benefit from retaining their leaves in Winter and are not deciduous.



Those native trees that are deciduous don’t usually grow in dense stands or show their fall colors in a dramatic fashion.

Some of the Southern California trees found at low elevation that are deciduous are valley oak, sycamore, willow, cottonwood, ash, alder, elderberry and walnut.

From last Sunday’s run in Malibu Creek State Park.