Tahquitz Rock is seen in the background of the snowy forest scene Christmas Day. Photo by Peter Szabadi
More rain during the middle of the week and at the end was joined by the largest snowfall since the first week of the year.

Pine Cove received another 3 inches of rain. The 3.3 inches last week brought the total rain since July 1, to 13.5 inches.

This is nearly 50 percent greater than the long-term average rainfall of 9.2 inches through the end of December.

Through the end of December 2015, Pine Cove had recorded 13.4 inches and ended the year at 25.2 inches.

Elsewhere the rain was not quite as heavy. The U.S. Forest Service’s Keenwild Ranger Station had 2.2 inches of rain for a total of 9 inches since July 1. At the end of December 2015, Keenwild recorded 11 inches but only 10 more in the next six months.

Snow fall on the Hill was heavy. Several areas were within the top 15 sites in Southern California. Fern Valley recorded 14 inches and Pine Cove had 9.4 inches. Idyllwild recorded 9 inches of snow, too.

The 2015 snow fall was about 30 inches, with little between the large January storm and 6 to 7 inches the first week of March.

The National Weather Service is still predicting below average precipitation for Southern California through March, which means the drought will continue into 2017.