Crazy winter weather

WEATHER TIDBITS

My deepest regards to the spirited crew of the Columbia.

Check this out, gang ...

Conditions on July 31, 2002:

Overcast till 2 p.m.; High, 73 degrees; Low, 59 degrees; a.m.

drizzle, humidity 87%; winds south at 10 to 16 mph; water temp 65

degrees; air visibility three miles.

Conditions on Jan. 31:

Sunny, clear; High, 87 degrees; Low, 61 degrees; air visibility 40

to 60 miles, humidity 20%, wind northeast 5 to 15 mph; water temp 61

degrees.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Nothing. I hope this movie continues, but by the same token,

squeeze out some rain!

It’s Feb. 3, we’re at the halfway point into winter; 45 down, 45

to go.

I’m walking the minus tide beach here on Monday at 4:45 p.m., and

as I get to St. Ann’s, lined up like orange ducks in a shooting

gallery, are a host of “contaminated water” signs. They’re posted not

only on the beach but along and at the top of the stairs as well! And

hats off to Jamo Pribram for his column two weeks ago about posting

“contaminated water” signs. He must’ve gotten their narrow attention

spans real quick.

On Monday, Feb. 3, there was a 50-degree temperature spread out at

Pete Ott’s house. Low, 28 degrees; High, 78 degrees. Birdbaths went

from ice skating ponds to afternoon warm pools. The birds out there

have gotta be loving this.

Monday saw crystal clear skies. San Clemente Island, Catalina

Island and Palos Verdes Peninsula were in plain view all day.

Look up in the heavens at around 10 or 11 p.m. and view the active

sky. Orion’s Belt sits high in the southern sky -- Pleiades is to the

right of Orion, and Saturn is near Pleiades -- and then there’s

Jupiter. In about a week, the near-full moon will be sitting a moon’s

length away from Jupiter.

Our sunset is now at 5:20 p.m. -- sunrise is getting a minute

earlier per day.

Hawaii is getting hammered again by a 15- to 20-foot-plus

west-northwest swell. That means Pipeline’s outer reefs are

exploding, especially with all that west in the new swell. The

incredible run continues, as two more identical swells are slated for

the remainder of the week.

Nearly every reporting station in Southern California set all time

records for the warmest January. What little moisture we got was

mainly in San Diego County from an upper-level low over Northern Baja

that backslid.

Los Angeles recorded no measurable rain -- 1976 was the last time

that happened.

Ocean temps reached 64 degrees at Dana Point and San Clemente.

It’s even 60 degrees up in Santa Barbara.

Back in 1976, by the way, there was a mild El Nino going, but it

was a very dry year (6.07 inches). But the summer of ’76 into the

fall felt the effects, with 70-degree water through Halloween and

hurricanes Claudia, Estelle and Kathleen steaming northwest into our

surf window. Stay tuned!

* DENNIS McTIGHE, a Laguna Beach resident, earned a bachelor’s in

earth sciences from UCSD.