Plumed achenes of curl-leaf mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius) on the Chumash Trail. From Tuesday's run.

From Sunday's San Gabriels High Five run and hike.

From Sunday's San Gabriels High Five run and hike.

It's been late February since Southern California has had a good soaking rain. As of May 1, the water year rainfall total for Downtown Los Angeles (USC) stands at 13.42 inches. This is 90% of the 1921-2006 average of 14.87 inches. According to the NWS 1921-2006 dataset, the average amount of precipitation in May and June is 0.3 inch and 0.1 inch, respectively. We'll see if we get that much this year!

La Niña appears to be winding down.  In it's April 30 ENSO Wrap-Up, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology characterizes Pacific climate patterns as being generally neutral, "with the majority of indicators returning to near-normal levels." The April 28 ENSO Update from the CPC suggests that La Niña will continue through May-July 2008, but many of the factors discussed indicate general weakening of La Niña. Based on the ONI and MEI, La Nina conditions have existed since about August of 2007.

The photograph of the sun-parched mustard leaf is from a run at Ahmanson Ranch on April 29, 2008.

Technorati Tags: la nina, Los Angeles weather

From a run at Ahmanson Ranch -- now Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.

From a late afternoon trail run along Las Virgenes Creek in late November 2007.

When I see crystals of hoar frost sparkle in the Winter sun it triggers a child-like awe. On Sunday's Condor Peak Trail Run, several sections of trail glittered as we ran into a low morning sun. On the cold east face of Fox Mountain, a fine, needle-like frost coated the edges and surfaces of leaves and twigs that had collected in pockets on the steep slope.

Digitally magnifying a small section of a 10 Mp image revealed that the frost is comprised of  hollow columns, and further magnification shows that the columns are hexagonal, with lengthwise facets.

From Tuesday's run at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch).

From a run at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch). Note the hawk in the tree on the left.

From a run at Sage Ranch. (A 16:9 format image.)

Study of a wall of the Electra Powerhouse on the Mokelumne River.

It's growth exhausted, this dessicated stalk of hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea) is a relic of Southern California's 2005-2006 rain season. A robust member of the mint family, the flowering stalks typically grow to a height of 1-3 ft., but in this case the full stalk reached about 4 ft. The 2006-2007 rain season was too dry to produce flowering stalks in this area.

From a run at Sage Ranch Park on August 22, 2007.

Related post: Dealing with Drought