[Vision2020] California, Washington Record Rain Events Dec. 2010: Moscow's Total Precipitation Below Average

[Ted Moffett]

The 2010 La Nina intense precipitation events are mostly missing
Moscow, Idaho.  During the first month of the meteorological winter,
December 2010, Moscow had 2.70 inches of precipitation, lower than the
average of 3.14 inches, according to Weather.com at the website below:

http://www.weather.com/outlook/driving/interstate/monthly/83843?month=-1
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However, California and Washington were hammered by record setting
preciptation events during December 2010, as indicated by the National
Climate Data Center website below:

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/hazards/

>From website above:

The "Pineapple Express"—a meteorological event where southwest winds
bring warm, moist air to the U.S. West Coast—produced record rainfall
to the Pacific Northwest during December 11th–12th. Seattle
experienced record rainfall two days in a row. The Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport recorded 1.42 inches (36 mm) of rain on the
11th, breaking the old daily record of 1.32 inches (34 mm) set in
1955. The next day, 2.19 inches (56 mm) fell, breaking the daily
record of 1.70 inches (43 mm) set in 1966. The Stillaguamish River in
western Washington state reached 21.06 feet (6.42 meters) at
Arlington, tying the record set in November 2006. Flood stage for the
river is 14 feet (4.3 meters). The storm system also brought record
warmth to the area. On December 14th, the temperature at
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport reached 57°F (13.9°C), breaking
the old daily record of 55°F (12.8°C) set in 2004.

More storms—courtesy of the Pineapple Express—inundated California
with rain, snow, and high winds on December 17th–22nd. Los Angeles
International Airport—among several other locations—broke its daily
precipitation record on both the 19th (2.23 inches [57 mm], surpassing
the old record of 1.62 inches [41 mm] set in 1984) and the 20th (0.98
inches [25 mm], surpassing the previous record of 0.7 inches [18 mm]
set in 1952). In addition to breaking its daily precipitation record
of 2.80 inches (71 mm) on the 19th, besting the old record of 2.12
inches (54 mm) set in 1921, downtown Los Angeles recorded a total of
6.72 inches (171 mm) of rain during from the 17th through 4:45 AM PST
on the 22nd, equivalent to more than one-third of its annual average
precipitation. More than 21 inches (530 mm) of rain was reported at
Tanbark in Los Angeles County and many surrounding areas had more than
12 inches (300 mm) of rain. As of December 20th, up to 13.5 feet (4
meters) of snow was reported at Mammoth Mountain ski resort, becoming
the snowiest December on record at the resort since 1969. Nearly
21,000 cutomers lost power in Southern California on the 20th. As of
this report update, more immediate rainfall was expected in the
region.
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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett