California is entering the fourth month of what is typically the rainy season, but in the Southland, the landscape is beginning to show signs of drought.
The last time Los Angeles recorded rainfall over a tenth of an inch — the threshold that officials typically consider helpful for thirsty plants and the reduction of wildfire risk — was May 5, when downtown received just 0.13 inches of rain.
“It’s safe to say this is [one of] the top ten driest starts to our rainy season on record,” said Ryan Kittell, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard. “Basically, all the plants are as dry as they normally are in October.”
California’s wet season can run from October to April , although most of the precipitation occurs from December to February.
Current forecasts show little hope that a needed storm could develop in the next few weeks, and the Southern California landscape — ripe for wildfire and never far from chronic water shortages — is paying the price.