Someone told me long ago
“There’s a calm before the storm”
I know. It’s been comin’ for some time.

When it’s over, so they say,
It’ll rain on a sunny day…

…I want to know, have you ever seen the rain
Comin’ down on a sunny day?
~ Written by John Fogerty, performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1971



Two days before the end of 2013 found me at Coffee Gallery Backstage, a small coffeehouse on North Lake Avenue listening to the tribute band Fortunate Son, an amazing talent at a non-descript old storefront building in Altadena. Above are the lyrics to “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” a piece performed by them. A connection with our current weather? Of course…

A combination of temperatures well into the 80s, Santa Ana winds, low humidity and dry fuel created critical fire weather conditions for the foothills, mountains and wind-exposed parts of L.A. County. This resulted in a red flag warning issued by the National Weather Service. What exactly does this mean?

According to the NWS, if fire ignition occurs there could be rapid spread of wildfire that would lead to a threat to life and property. This is not good news as we are into a third year of below average rain totals.

As I heard the band’s rendition of CCR’s song above, I want to know, “Have you ever seen the rain?”  The answer is “yes,” but not too much. In fact, we haven’t seen several consecutive days of rain for quite some time.

With no rain in the forecast, it appears 2013 will go down as the driest on record for L.A. and surrounding areas.  JPL’s renowned climatologist Bill Patzert states, “It’s really dry … as dry as a box of popcorn in the desert.” Love the very scientific analogy!

No rain on the parade this year. No snow capped mountains as its backdrop, either. And, fortunately, no plumes of smoke from the forest.

Hopefully our current weather situation is just the calm before the storm; however, there’s nothing predicted (rain-wise) for 2014 yet as warm weather continues into next week.

Meteorologists hint at a chance for rain. Maybe … “comin’ down on a sunny day!”

~Blessings in the New Year ~

Sue Kilpatrick is a  Crescenta Valley resident and Official Skywarn Spotter
for the National Weather Service. Reach her at  suelkilpatrick@gmail.com.

  Sue Kilpatrick