Plenty of rain and more to come

WEATHER TIDBITS

“Spring has sprung the grass has ris

I wonder where the flowers is”

-- Tidbitter’s mom, 1964

Well, mom, you don’t have to wonder where the “flowers is” for

long, ‘cause this spring, the flowers is going off the richter!

Unlike last spring, where everything was parched and dried up

(like your Tidbitter’s mug), this spring is going to be a dazzler

thanks to record rains last week, even in our deserts, where it’s a

banner year for poppies, lupens and other wild flowers.

At this point a year ago, a measly 3.8 inches had fallen between

July 1, 2001 and March 24, 2002.

Heck, we got that much last weekend as all four rain gauges

rounded off came to 3.83 inches for the 24 hour period 8 a.m. March

15 to 8 a.m. March 16, setting a record for March rainfall in a 24

hour period. Only March 1, 1983 came close when 3.5 inches fell.

For the 2002-03 season, Laguna stands at 13.18 inches up to March

24 -- normal to date is 11.18 inches.

Our 3.83 inch total for March is well above the March norm of 2.24

inches.

I don’t think it’s over yet; a couple more good ones will fall

sometime in April and we’ll end up with the 15-plus inches I called

for back in September of last year.

Seasonal rainfall totals are above the norm in both central and

northern regions of our state as well.

Winter 2002-03 was milder than the past four winters, with only

four nights of 32 degrees or below in the canyon, compared to 18 in

1998-99, 16 in 1999-00, 19 in 2000-01 and 20 in 2001-02.

Ocean temps for the period of Dec. 21, 2002 to March 21, 2003

averaged 58.2 degrees compared to the norm of 57.1 degrees only

dropping below 55 degrees twice.

Over half the days of the previous four winters recorded ocean

temps of 55 degrees or below.

Look for some warm water and neat waves this summer and lots less

June gloom. We’re way overdue for that stuff.

And there you have it.

Stay tuned!

* DENNIS McTIGHE is a Laguna Beach resident. He earned a

bachelor’s degree in earth sciences from UCSD and was a U.S. Air

Force weather forecaster at Hickman Air Force Base, Hawaii.