Southland Has Chance of More Sprinkles

Rare September showers sprinkled Los Angeles over the weekend, and forecasters say Southern California may get even more drizzles today.

A fireworks display in conjunction with a Hollywood Bowl concert Saturday night was punctuated by a brilliant celestial display of lightning.

“This weather is a preview of late fall and winter,” said Bill Hibbert, a meteorologist for WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times. “We’ve already seen discussions of snow down to the 5,000-foot level in the northern Sierra, and down to 8,000 feet in southern mountains.”

By midday Sunday, the Los Angeles Civic Center had recorded .07 inch of rain. San Diego reported .08, San Gabriel, .19, Escondido, .20, Beaumont, .42, and Big Bear Lake, .12. Even Palm Springs--with a high temperature of 101 on Sunday--had .02. Mt. Wilson reported .72 and Lake Arrowhead had 1.11.

The Southern California showers paled in comparison to the weekend weather in Sacramento, where 1.79 inches of rain fell during violent thunderstorms generated during the last gasp of Hurricane Octave.

“The drizzle now is a result of leftover moisture from ex-Hurricane Octave, which dissipated over the weekend,” Hibbert said. “The storm pushed moisture into California at the same time a strong low-pressure system began moving through.”

The combination of the hurricane, the normal onshore flow of moist air and the low pressure “create a very good opportunity for clouds and drizzle to form,” Hibbert said. “A new low-pressure system entering the state now could pop off some showers in mountain and offshore areas.”

Skies will be partly cloudy today with a chance of showers or thundershowers, especially in the mountains and deserts, the National Weather Service said. Skies should begin clearing tonight and Tuesday will be mostly sunny, but with continued below-normal temperatures.

The Los Angeles Civic Center, with a high of 73 on Sunday, should warm up a few degrees to the mid-70s today. Lows tonight will range from the upper 40s to upper 50s along the coast. Mountain areas will see lows between the mid-30s and low 40s.

Along with possible thundershowers, deserts will also be cooler than normal today, the weather service said. In the high desert, high temperatures will only reach the 70s. The mercury in the low desert will reach highs between the low 80s and low 90s.