Photo by Halie Wilson
Rain drenched parts of the Hill this weekend, and while it was far from sufficient to eliminate the drought, it will help.
The U.S. Forest Service’s Keenwild Ranger Station recorded 1.2 inches of rain from about noon Saturday, Aug. 2 through early Monday morning. But George Tate, an unofficial weatherman in Pine Cove, recorded slightly more than 2.5 inches over the weekend.
Historically, the area normally receives about 0.7 inches during July and another 0.8 in August. Already, about 1.25 inches have fallen at Keenwild and twice that amount in Pine Cove.
The weekend’s rain varied across the Hill. While Pine Cove received nearly twice what Keenwild recorded, the James Reserve north of Pine Cove recorded more than 3.5 inches of rain and 2.6 inches fell on Mt. San Jacinto Peak. Anza to the south recorded only 1.23 inches and less than an inch fell in Hemet.
While some roads in Southern California, including a portion of Interstate 10, were closed partially or fully because of rain, roads on the Hill remained open and clear.
Through this week, the National Weather Service does not forecast any more precipitation. However, the Cal Fire Predictive Services forecast for August through November states, “This may allow the import of a greater amount of subtropical moisture into the region during the next few months. Therefore, precipitation through September may remain close to seasonal normals.” Nevertheless, it suggested that winter rains may arrive later than normal this year.
